Scott Xylo offers up a mesmeric piece of nostalgia, with the release of his latest project ‘2003 // HeERO Scott’.
Concept albums are often attempted but poorly executed. The idea of basing a project around one central theme allows for it to be far more sonically cohesive; something prominently lacking in LPs/Eps of thematically unrelated material. UK producer Scott Xylo’s latest release, 2003 // HeERO Scott, is an EP underpinned by a distinctive concept and as a result delivers a delightful listening experience. Although the EP is an exercise in brevity, clocking in just over 21 minutes, its quality is in no way diminished. The EP centres around the idea of Xylo obtaining a stack of old Toonami VHS tapes and playing them back. Each track represents a tape and a cartoon, the names of which are cleverly referenced in the track titles. Samples from each show are sprinkled throughout, as well as sounds representing the interchange of video tapes. Sonically, the project bears all the hallmarks of Xylo’s production style: atmospheric polyphonic synths and impactful unquantised drums. 2003 // HeEERO Scott provided a megaton punch of nostalgia to my gut and will undoubtedly take a prominent place amongst the music on my iPod.
You can stream and download the project below.