There’s been a lot of talk surrounding Lemaitre; the electronic duo hailing from Norway sent ripples in the underground electronic scene with their remix of Porter Robinson’s ‘Easy’ and their debut EP ‘The Friendly Sound’. Despite this their presence never quite solidified like their coeval Norwegian artists. But the incestuous and sweeping expansion of music via the Internet, global domination of EDM and Norway’s improbable conglomerate of EDM artists, has all come together to provide Lemaitre a generous leg-up into the mainstream.
1749 personifies the duo’s journey from Norway to L.A. The playful intermingle between saccharine vocals and beats — a now trademark Norwegian sound — and the hard hitting, synth heavy overlays are a nod to L.A.’s throbbing EDM scene.
“1749 represents the journey we’ve made and the process of creating music in our home away from home. We all moved together from Norway to chase the dream of making music and living in LA” – Lemaitre
Although short,1749 feels large and borderless. Most of the tracks are built with definitive inclines and declines. Songs like ‘Closer’ emanate riding a rollercoaster; predictable and yet you’re still gripped with anticipation. And while the bare bones of EDM are just that, highs and lows, Lemaitre create highs that are at times abrasive and convoluted. The french horns and piano on top of dubstep synths jar against the floaty vocals of Jennie A.
And then there is ‘Day Two’, which compared to the other tracks, is driven with groove laden synths, metronomic beats and jovial piano melodies. These crescendos and decrescendos make sense, there’s a natural progression that’s much more palatable. It all comes together for a wildly infectious tune.
‘Not Too Late’ is another huge track and that might partly be due to the fact that the duo worked with EDM giant, Porter Robinson. You can hear his influence across the whole EP however, and it works well. Lemaitre have developed their own sound, but working with Robinson has allowed them to push through the copious amount of EDM that has surfaced in recent years.
So much of EDM today is made up almost entirely of obscure, digitised sounds — it’s refreshing to hear an act bring forward instruments with more heart and soul, while still working within the bounds of modern EDM.
Standing out in an Internet driven world is a mammoth task and so far Lemaitre have done well. With the release of 1749, it’s no doubt the duo will propel further. So while Lemaitre have been around for few years now, the timing and context has never been so right for a quirky electronic band to emerge into the mainstream.
Rating: ★★★
Stream Lemaitre‘s 1749 EP below or go check it out on iTunes and on Spotify.
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author: Natalia Morawski