DFA – 3/5 Human

Not to be confused with James Murphy’s New York operation, this DFA is a Detroiter named James Trammell, and the snappily-titled Microstructural Characterization EP – the only thing he ever released, to my knowledge – made a few quiet waves when it emerged on his own Surveillance label back in 2001. All three tracks are excellent – Cyclic Subspace was the one I used to play most, with its warm Rhodes chords, square-wave bass and classic beats – but the long B-side track, 3/5 Human, is the one floating my boat on a dark and wintry Sunday evening, with its meandering arpeggios, pianos and strings. It’s a prize slice of supreme, grade-A deepness – tune in, turn up, drift off…

NB: The other cuts are on YouTube too, so do check them out if you’re not familiar. Looks like vinyl copies are still available direct from Surveillance too, so you know what to do. And if anyone knows of any more music from this guy, do let me know…