A French house producer who rarely offers French house music,
Brodinski launched his career as an electro don who perfectly fits with Bugged Out! or Southern Fried, but his later work is left-field hip-hop of the highest order, the kind of stuff that attracted mavericks like
Danny Brown and
Kanye West. Here, the indie electronica DJ with two productions on
West's monolithic
Yeezus LP makes his album debut with an unexpected and excellent blast of fractured tracks, some so skeletal and wobbly they sound like the Chicago genre of footwork as heard through a nu-disco remix. "Bury Me," with
Maluca and MPA Shitro, is a good example as it jerks like a zombie while shining like a diamond, but a more downtown version is "I Can't Help Myself," where
SD stutters over trap booms and blasts before disappearing in a whirlwind of rave-rap beats. The weird "Need for Speed," with
Louisahhh and Bloody Jay, sounds as if
Giorgio Moroder called for
Lil Jon, got
Trinidad James instead, and was happy the mistake happened; then there's the pounding acid number called "Hector," which is one-part Mad Decent and one-part happy hardcore. With dark bass, aggressive attitude, and the word "bitch" used for emphasis, both
Three 6 Mafia and
Pimp C's influences are in full effect throughout the album, but even with all these touchstones and special guests,
Brava has a unique voice, one that's choppy, quirky, welcoming, and likely smells of blunts when it burps. Think of
Mr. Oizo signed to Hypnotized Minds, or
Chief Keef as
Erol Alkan's hype man, and the delightful, wobbly magic of
Brodinski's debut will come as less of a shock. ~ David Jeffries