Rteph88 & Steve Cobby – Seven Dogs
Rteph88 is the alias of Robin Taylor-Firth, known for his work with Warp Records and as a member of Nightmares On Wax, and Steve Cobby was half of the legendary Fila Brazillia – the two have joined forces for a jazzy, bruk-esque EP of four tracks that happily sails its own niche.
Some collaborations feel like a surprise. Others feel like the logical conclusion to two parallel musical journeys. Seven Dogs, the new EP from Rteph88 (Robin Taylor-Firth) and Steve Cobby, falls firmly into the latter camp. Four tracks of dusty grooves, jazz-tinged electronics and beautifully unhurried musicianship from two artists who have spent decades operating somewhere left of the obvious.
Taylor-Firth and Cobby hardly need an introduction in these circles. From Taylor-Firth’s work around Warp, Nucleus and Nightmares on Wax to Cobby’s hugely influential output with Fila Brazillia and Pork Recordings, both have long understood the value of rhythm, space and a melody that doesn’t necessarily reveal itself on first listen. Seven Dogs draws on that experience without sounding like an exercise in looking backwards.
Early Doors eases us in gently. Piano hangs in the air while a loose, subtly swung drum pattern establishes the pulse underneath. It’s a track built around conversation rather than confrontation, with keys and percussion constantly responding to one another. There’s a distinctly late-afternoon quality to it, warm, hazy and just slightly psychedelic.
The title track turns the dial a little. Seven Dogs introduces a more insistent bassline, burrowing through the centre of the track while the piano throws out rich, slightly unruly chords above it. The groove has movement, but never feels rigid. This is electronic music with a distinctly human looseness.
Things become more nocturnal on Visiting Hobo. Sparse, weighty drums leave plenty of negative space for the bass and piano, while the latter’s cavernous reverb gives the track an almost physical sense of depth. It’s probably the most introspective moment on the EP, quietly melancholic without ever becoming sombre.
Titled brings the record home with a more playful touch. Whimsical keys gradually give way to a simmering rhythm section, building organically rather than arriving fully formed. It’s an appropriately understated finale to an EP that consistently chooses atmosphere over excess.
What really works about Seven Dogs is how little it feels the need to prove. There’s no attempt to recreate the sounds of either artist’s past, despite the wealth of history between them. Instead, those histories are simply part of the musical vocabulary, absorbed, rearranged and put to work in the present.
The result is a record that sits comfortably between jazztronica, downtempo and leftfield electronic music, but doesn’t particularly need a genre box. It’s music for warm evenings, half-lit rooms and long journeys, rhythmic enough to move with and spacious enough to disappear into.
Two seasoned technicians, four beautifully restrained tracks, and a reminder that sometimes the deepest grooves are the ones that barely raise their voice.
A quietly excellent collaboration.
