There’s a new kind of House rising up from the western front, spearheaded by artists like Galcher Lustwerk, Channel Tres and Byron the Aquarius. Focussing their efforts on the deeper aspects of House music, applying soulful touches in minimal arrangements and often lending their vocals to stark dance floor creations, these musicians are operating outside the canonical conventions of Chicago, Detroit and New York and to great effect.
Galcher Lustwerk has been at the forefront of this new kind of sound, made possible by computer technology and musical artists and while Channel Tres has found some mainstream success and Byron the Aquarius has pandered to a mainly underground audience, Galcher Lustwerk strides both dimensions in his work, finding favour with an indie lo-fi House audience. His eloquent vocal work across modern Deep House tracks laced with serene pads and delicate bass lines, found a dedicated following after his seminal track “Parlay,” which was followed by his equally enigmatically engaging, debut LP, Dark Bliss.
Through his sophomore effort, 200% Galcher he solidifies his sound in that deep sensual swagger that underpins his work. While in the past he might have split his efforts between vocal tracks and instrumental tracks on 200% Glalcher his vocal takes more of a central role in his work. It was arriving through the rise of Lo-Fi House that Galcher Lustwerk’s music found his initial audience, but where he deviates quite a lot from the tag on this LP, is that his work imparts a mood rather than a design, emphasised by his laid-back tempos and that drawling vocal work . There’s an infectious temperament that courses through 200% Galcher which is accentuated by the artist’s nonchalant rapping style and those deep sonorous arrangements.
The repetitive nature of his lyrics, where one line is repeated or only slightly modulated, is effective in the instrumental accompaniment and adds all the character to tracks like “Niggas” and “Template.” Although there is a tendency to stick to the stark, minimalist sound of modern House music, elements like the detuned pads of “Wristband” or the modulating keys of “This n That” add a funky element that lifts tracks like these from drowning in banality. It is however the interplay between these elements and Galcher Lustwerk’s rapping vocals that make this record so charming and in many ways improve on his last LP, Dark Bliss. Galcher Lustwerk has truly found his artistic voice on 200% Galcher.