Jacques Greene Moves Obliquely with 'Dawn Chorus'

Jacques Greene’s Dawn Chorus opens with a curveball. The listener has come to expect understated drum machine beats from the Montreal-expat, but instead, the album opens with thundering live drums that evoke great UK groups from the 90s (Massive Attack and The Chemical Brothers are both noted influence of Greene). It’s a left-turn, but it’s not necessarily representative of the album as a whole. At least not formally.

It does sound like a declaration of intent, though. Without denying his roots in house and bass music, Greene’s invocation of the British 90s shines through the many choices he makes throughout the album. The propensity for emulation doesn’t affect the producer.

His influences are merely food for thoughts, oblique strategies that bring him out of his comfort zone, like the many collegial encounters with like-minded producers and collaborators that informed the making of the album.

After a few listens (and there will have to be many more…) I’d argue that the way the album marks a departure from Jacques Greene material is more in form than in substance. While the mix of 2018’ Fever Focus was sharper and more in your face, Dawn Chorus is all subtleties, details blooming in the background and dense shoegaze atmosphere. The drums sometimes take a step back, while the vocals of guests from varied horizon are pushed to the forefront.

Jacques Greene is not your average EDM producer, and it has often been stated that he doesn’t always make music with the club in mind. Dawn Chorus might be the most sincere expression of that concept, and will probably better be enjoyed in a proper music venue, or a festival stage.