Fred P - The Incredible Adventures Of Captain P (Escapism) - 2x LP Vinyl

7 yrs on, Fred P drops installment 2 of "The Incredible Adventures Of Captain P", subtitled ESCAPISM, a constant stream of consciousness that takes you on a journey into a dimension of sound. There's a lot to be said for consistency, and Fred Peterkin's music over the years has certainly been dependable. Whether creating rich and spacious tracks under his Fred P and Black Jazz Consortium aliases, gossamer house as FP-Oner, or dubbier material as Anomaly, his music has a meditative quality, an inward-looking depth that soothes even in its clubbiest moments. He favors a deliberate, patient pace—even his high-tempo tracks tend to feel relaxed. He's fond of jazz-tinged chords, harmonies and keyboard runs. Much of his music has a minor-key feel.

Of course, that same description could apply to Peterkin's contemporaries—Detroit house producers like Mike Huckaby and Rick Wade, as well as members of the Underground Quality cohort (Jus-Ed was an early production mentor). But there's another characteristic that sets him a few degrees apart from those artists: an affinity for warm, emotive synth lines. Sometimes they're rough-edged, other times buffed to a sheen. They can soar high in the air, or snake low to the ground. More often than not, a humming synth playing a starring role.

That's especially true on Escapism. Take "Get Ready": an anxious keyboard riff undulates alongside a sparse, rugged rhythm, with ghostly vocals snippets intoning the track's title. As with most other tracks on the album, the cut would kick like a mule over a big system, but the attention is focused on the higher registers—namely, that synth, placed front and center in the mix.

But it's more than just a few synth bits that make the album so inviting. Peterkin weaves his keyboard lines around studiously constructed frameworks—every spectral vocal, hissing hi-hat and oscillating bass tone is exactly where it's supposed to be. But rather than sap the music of soul, his careful approach to arrangement accentuates his blend of dance floor abandon and late-night wistfulness.

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