What sets Foodman apart from so many artists is his fascination with sound. Over the course of his career, the producer has tinkered around with all sorts of sources and created songs out of unconventional noises — mosquitos become synthesizers, Japanese summer festivals become sliced-and-diced percussion. Listening to Foodman’s songs can almost feel like a science experiment, as he warps sounds into new forms and turns them into songs. Ez Minzoku, his latest album on Orange Milk Records, embraces plastic-sounding textures and space to create a set that’s absorbing and at times surprising (say, when voices start shouting on “Jazz,” or when everything just clicks on the skittery free form of “Mid Summer Night”). If so much music in 2016 is defined by narrative, Ez Minzoku is a nice alternative — one defined purely by an artist poking and prodding at sound. Get it here, or listen above.
