2 x Vinyl LP
Eris Drew’s philosophy of Motherbeat is about the intent behind the act of making and sharing music, about capturing the communal joy and energy transfer between artist and audience within the temporal space of the rave. The Chicago DJ and producer, who has been active since the mid-’90s, uses this mindset to define her approach to music, bridging the gap between the art of DJing and the practice of collective meditation. For Drew, DJing is a spiritual tool, one that can be used for catharsis and self-discovery.
Quivering In Time is her long-awaited debut LP after a series of singles on labels such as naïve or T4T Luv NRG, which Drew co-runs with her partner Octo Octa. The album embodies the freewheeling spirit of Motherbeat, condensing the artist’s philosophy down to its rave-ready rudiments. The album is built like a DJ set; the tracks flow into one another, and taken together, they have the wide dynamic range of a rollercoaster ride. Opener “Time To Move Close,” an energetic track built around rolling bass and massive, churning kick drums, cuts to the point, transporting us directly to the heated peak of the party, while “Pick ‘Em Up” exists in more murky, fluid territory, innovatively merging dubstep elements and drum & bass polyrhythms.
Throughout the album, Drew presents a journey through the history of dance music, dipping into dubby house (“Show U Love”), trance flourishes (“Loving Clav”), or a majestic electro ode to psychedelics (“The Message / Ride Free”). Drew structures her tracks like pop songs, blending together squelching synths, divine arpeggios, and chopped vocal samples in an intoxicating way. The end result is an album that presents the timeless quality of beloved rave anthems from a more heartfelt perspective, radiating dance-ready energy from start to finish.
