Steve Porter’s first full-length release “Homegrown” proves that he is at the forefront of keeping the progressive house genre alive and kicking, despite the negativity the genre has received over the past few years.
It was only two years ago that major electronic music magazines proclaimed the genre dead, having climbed up its proverbial rear into a dark hole of uninspired, plodding bass lines and boring, brooding rhythms as producers and DJ’s had jumped on a bandwagon that had little life.
The “bandwagon,” as it was, stressed dark and moody sounds that stripped the genre of the melody and the driving energy that had made it popular.
Enter a fresh wave of producers and DJ’s who put these missing elements back into the progressive sound and the genre has seen an increase in popularity both in press status and from listeners around the world. At the forefront of this movement was Steve Porter, and his new release serves as a blueprint for the sound he’s helped rebuild.
While it’s easy to argue one variation of the sound has just been replaced with another, and thus just as boring as before, it’s hard to deny Porter’s talent as a producer.
Rhythmic bass lines, airy, lush piano driven melodies, solid percussion and hints of jazz and funk that move in and out the tracks all help to define the sound as his own, a sound dubbed “Porterhouse” by his fans.
The opening track “Fluffer Nutter” sets the tone for the album as low-key ambient noise and a gentle synth washes over, steadily gaining volume as the drums kick in and a throbbing bass line finally drops. As the piano driven melodies float over the bass line and begin to loop, it’s clear this album is headed into standard progressive territory.
“Between 9&10” sees seminal electronic producers Orbital’s influence over Porter as he creates a track full of wobbly bass and synthetic chimes that mesh together to give the track an organic feel reminiscent of much of Orbital’s work.
The album then heads to full-on club territory with “Swanky” as a jacking bass line drops in, full of low, echoed growls and a driving beat. The track evolves as Porter brings back in the Orbital-esque chimes and a solid keyboard.
“Beat N’ Potatoes” keeps things moving with a solid groove, and a subtle dose of funky, latin tinged piano riffs. Claps and delay follow, as the track moves through key changes, while maintaining its upbeat rhythm. A standout track on the album, it wonderfully walks the line between a funky upbeat house track and trance.
“Vodka Cranberries,” the track that helped turn Porter into the darling of the scene, shows off his talent as producer with its melodic hook, use of rhythm, echo, subtle piano keys and hypnotic synth lines.
Tracks like “Lady Elaine” and “Square Dancing” highlight Porter’s ability to blend percussion with rising and falling chord changes to slowly build tracks to a boiling point, pulling you into to his sound space, then gently setting you off.
While most producers would opt for the easy way out by building into big, cheesed out and over the top breakdowns, Porter shows his maturity as a producer by avoiding this route.
“Homegrown” is unlikely to win any new converts to the electronic sound, and more clued-up listeners will continue to shun the genre in favor of the minimal, stripped down techno and electro sounds de jour of the moment.
“Homegrown” should, however, keep fans happy and act as a solid showcase for Porter’s talent as a musician.
Brandon Holmes can be reached at [email protected].
