[Vizual Records]

There is a long tradition in aesthetics presupposing that art should aspire to resemble nature. Art’s artifice, all the craft and design, should disappear from view, leaving behind only a surface on which elements seem to move with natural necessity. The enjoyment of art stems in part from experiencing something that seems almost like nature, while all along still knowing somehow that it’s artificial, shaped by the hands of man. The chance of enjoying the four tracks offered up by Joshua Iz for his second release on his own Vizual Records thus seems summed up by the title. “Flower Sparks” reflects how these numbers seem to unfold organically, yet also use a distinctly synthetic sound palette that reminds you of the electrical energy whirring through machines that makes it possible. What’s more, I wouldn’t be surprised if “Flower Sparks” was the name of the VST plug-in Joshua used to generate the synth lines that take center stage throughout — buzzing with electric warmth, they wind through twisting melodies in fluid undulation.

This synth style is in full effect on “Rydim Culture” lending the track a breezy, effervescent air, snaking over a series of brisk, bright synth stabs. Like its three kin, “Rydim Culture” has a glitzy, uptempo house vibe well-suited for Friday night at a high-rise bar in midtown, white leather sofas, high heels, and an expansive terrace view of city lights glowing through the rain. It’s futurist-escapist, soundtracking a pleasure-centric throwdown hidden far away from the stress, anxieties and lurking paranoias of the urban jungle. The EP’s titular opener derives its enthralling, bouncy momentum from the gloriously wild throbs of an acid-y synth riff. Even though all the filters and distortions on the synth have a distinctly digital sheen to them, their rich tonal variety would support the idea that digital is at times just as capable of sounding alive as analog is.

While Joshua’s tunes are in the pocket, the result of more than ten years in the house music game, a number of vocal sentiments here appear a bit tacked on. “Rydim Culture” includes a rasta shouting the title over a house groove that has ostensibly little to do with “rydim,” while “Alpha & Omega” touts a diva asserting “I am the alpha of kinky hair… and the omega of your dreams… gaze upon me.” Such new age mythologizing seems more appropriate for some psychedelic disco than chic house. That’s to say, while Joshua’s production style tastes like champagne, his vocal samples smell like weed. Not a contradiction, perhaps; what’s deep house after all but regular house just more stoned?