There is no one way to describe Saffron, the newly coined project formerly called Spirit Guide. IDM, trip hop, house, and down tempo filter in at appropriate intervals making it a melting pot of genre. And it does melt, liquify even, without lapsing into the neon aqueous of 90s acid house. No single track embodies the Saffron sound, rather the New York-based producer’s project is best heard in full on the upcoming Petra I and Petra II cassettes, but for that it will require patience.
With the release date two weeks away “Catalonia” is a glimpse into Saffron’s down tempo side. The fogginess of a quaaludes high in the midday sun, there is something vaguely prescient at play on “Catalonia”. The murky awareness comes from the botched ethereal of pushing an angelic synth line into the red. As a closer to Petra II, “Catalonia” does not settle for the celestial exit, but wedges one last nod to IDM with a breakbeat vignette for good measure.
Saffron’s Petra I & II are out March 24 on 1080p Collection.
