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Nov 04, 2016 Web Exclusive By Charles Steinberg

The relationship between Connan Mockasin and Sam Dust began with happenstance and folly. Yet a listen to their years in the making joint effort gives the impression that theirs was an intersection of fate disguised as coincidence. After an acrimonious introduction, parallel moves through time gradually ushered in mutual respect for their kindred sensibilities and a visiting—and revisiting—of collaboration. Soft Hair is the emergence of a musical diary co-authored by transient artists, periodically ducking out of life’s throughway to find a common plane.

The consistency of the material is what you would imagine in a swirling together of Mockasin’s acclaimed album, Caramel and Dust’s downtown strut in the guise of LA Priest on last year’s Inji. The soulful dub-disco foundation of LA Priest’s output happens to be an inviting space for the quirky cosmic ambience of Mockasin to pass through, and Dust’s neo-soul swoon snakes around the voice altered persona that animates Mockasin’s musical enclaves in the way that Quasimoto does for Mad Lib. As it turns out, the candle wax coated soul step of Dust and the dreamy, antigravity of Mockasin are pleasantly well suited. Cozy rhythms borrow from Prince, Sly and the Family Stone, and Parliament, at times even sliding along to the guitar tonality of recent Mac DeMarco. Sultry tracks like “Lying Has to Stop” and “Goood Sign,” which actually first appeared on Priest’s Inji, bend with woozy, warbling, tip-toeing funk sounding as if they’re playing in a Walkman low on battery.

Soft Hair favors the rounded, recessed sound profiles that court you demurely, rather than come on strong. Swaths of warm grooves drop down into post sedated groggy passages of the subconscious with delays in note and beat, before waking back up, only to lounge soundly in the bed they made. The listening experience is a departure, with the same effect as a massage and delights most in recreating the dwellings of the music’s formation, where you stay, content in the oasis of retro vibrations. (www.softhair.bandcamp.com)

Author rating: 7.5/10