Anthony Naples returns to the album format a year on from his last effort, “Take Me With You” with a record that seems to make amends for neglecting the fans on the dance floor the last time around. “Fog FM” will appease anybody that might have come to Anthony Naples’ music through the dance floor and DJ sets, but have been left disappointed by his albums. Ten tracks maintain a rhythmic nature, indulging various different moods of the dance floor in the distinctive voice his crafted as an artist. Naples does away with the distracting conceptual pursuits of making an House album with an LP that mirrors his works on EPs with a cohesive sonic thread tying these ten tracks into the album.
Besides the “channel” interlude tracks, every track is a progressive jaunt through minimal and micro House with a dominant rhythmic element at the core of each track, delivering a functional demand with sole intentions on the dance floor. Anthony Naples didn’t over-think this one, which is often the demise of House and Techno albums. From the deep luxurious pads of “A.I.R.” to the effervescent rhythm section of “Lucy’s” there is a no over-arching narrative, just a sonic theme that consolidates the tracks on the LP, and similar to the great House and Techno LPs before it like Robert Hood’s “Minimal Nation” or Osunlade’s “Paradigm” the record maintains its allegiances to the dance floor.
“Fog FM” features great dexterity as it jumps between elements of House and Electro with Naples’ distinctive minimalists approach underpinning the sound of the record. Luxurious pads floating between deep grooves while icy synthetics carve out steep escarpments between microtonal melodic movements. There is some dynamism between tracks as the beat structure changes frequently and the atmosphere continually develops, but the sonic palette Naples has constructed these individually pieces from, remains largely unchanged which gives the record its progrevisse form.
It’s a very different approach to the Anthony Naples’ previous LPs where he might have been bogged down by trying to create listening albums that could function beyond the DJ booth and dance floor. That’s not where his strength lies as a producer however and it’s something that has been rectified on “Fog FM” with great affect. It’s an LP that could easily be slipped into a DJ bag as double EP, but retains the cohesion of an LP across it’s ten tracks. Between Naples’ languid melodies and harmonies and inherent knack for crafting dance floor cuts, this LP is a definite highlight on his discography and dance floor music in general.