Review: Replete – Zizek At The Discotheque

Irish producer and DJ Peter Lawlor AKA Replete has been quietly gaining momentum both at home and abroad over the past number of years. In 2016 he hosted a residency in Dublin’s historic Bernard Shaw pub and venue and had his club ready edits of disco and afrobeat records from Nigeria, Ethiopia and Ghana picked up by the likes of Optimo, O’Flynn and Dan Shake. This month marks the landing of his debut physical release, Zizek At The Discotheque, which is out now on cassette and digitally via Minneapolis label Always Human Tapes.

Zizek At The Discotheque is a collection of cuts that are as charismatic as its title may suggest, channelling the choice, tasteful influences that defined his African Edits Series as well as the colourful, gritty house atmospheres championed by labels like Running Back and Major Problems. Take the opener ‘Frequency Palenque’, for instance. The track blends an eerie synth melody with analogue bass and low filtered brass samples to give it a murky, enticing feel that draws from the dublike depths of his first EP in 2013. ‘Colonial Mentality’ then, with its spoken Fela sample, is a slice of laid-back melodies on a hefty kick that will satisfy fans of Fort Romeau or of Gold Panda’s more club-leaning moments.

Elsewhere, ‘XS’ and ‘Selfish Lung’ are propulsive tracks chock with chopped and altered vocals, jazzy pianos, and textured synths not unlike those found on releases from Heist Recordings. ‘Praise For’ is a near 10 minute odyssey of disco and house movements with each section adding another dynamic element to the mix, from the boisterous strings to the ever-so-slightly acidic mid-section.

‘Brazein (Palette Cleanser Edit)’ is a computerised plethora of colour, triggering the same sort of feeling you got the first time you turned on a games console as a child. Shimmering keys and soundscapes waeve in and out, eventually joined by the faintest of percussion samples, creating a crackling moment of rhythm that adds so much despite lingering for such a short time.

Concluding with the break-laden ‘Day Off’, a climactic explosion of energy to finish things off, it is far flung from the organic undercurrents that open the LP. Moving from the tasteful odes of the first three tracks into the computerised energy of the album’s latter half, the whole thing is a trip not dissimilar to the DJ sets he has been crafting over the course of his residencies. Ultimately,  Zizek at the Discotheque acts as a pleasing checkpoint in the progress of a producer who we can hope to get more from in the not too distant future. 

Buy the release HERE.