Fernando – Natural 77 EP
After an absence of two years, Leng are very happy to welcome back bass-wielding producer Fernanado Pulichino. The Natural 77 EP sees the experienced Argentine deliver another trio of tracks underpinned by his trademark warm, funk-fuelled basslines.
Fernando has packed a lot into his career since debuting with regular production partner Julian Sanza at turn of the millennium. Before the duo decided to go their separate ways, they delivered a string of fine deep house EPs as Cuidad Feliz, a fine debut album for Silver City, and formed part of Ralph Lawson’s touring live act, 20:20 Soundsystem. As a solo artist, Fernando released his debut album on Bear Funk back in 2013, and has more recently dropped singles on Cynic, Tusba and Futureboogie Recordings.
Given this vast experience, it’s no surprise to find that his third outing on Leng is an assured and varied affair. Opener “Backwards” sees Fernando strutting his electrofunk stuff, adding hazy guitar solos, spacey electronics and dubbed-out synth riffs to a rolling, boogie-propelled groove.
He channels the spirit of West Coast funkateers Steely Dan on title track “Natural 77”, expertly combining a rubbery bass guitar riff with sun-kissed guitar solos, freestyle vocal improvisations and a fluid, bongo-laden drum break. It’s a lazy, low-slung affair, but one guaranteed to incite excitable shuffling out on the dancefloor.
Finally, Fernando heads back towards Balearic disco pastures with the rich and evocative “Attic Party”. Delay-laden electric piano stabs, jammed-out bass and flanged, funk-fuelled guitar lines weave in and out of a mix dominated by trippy synthesizer motifs and deliciously glassy-eyed solos. You won’t know whether to wearily dance or lie down; either way, you’ll be escorted to another dimension by the Argentine’s gently mind-altering grooves.
