Nebraska: "Stand Your Ground"

Rather than the American heartland, Nebraska hails from London, the work of producer Ali Gibbs. Not long after releasing the sumptuous, looping insta-classic A Weekend on My Own EP in 2009, though, he mostly receded from view. Four years after his last release, Displacement, Nebraska has started blipping up on radars once again. He dropped the Rye Lane Rhythms 12″ on Delusions of Grandeur in March and this month he has an EP on Mister Saturday Night.

On cursory listens to “Stand Your Ground”, what Gibbs does is rather simple: loop a particularly juicy sample and let it do the heavy lifting. It’s a trick that works well in the worlds of disco and deep house, but outside of the likes of early Moodymann and Mark E, there’s a lightness and use of space that doesn’t come easily. There’s a steady clap and woodblock, a filtered bassline that wobbles around at the low end. As that mellow bass loop comes into focus, a squelching high frequency flutters about the modern-funk groove like a bat at dusk. For a track that emphasizes its firm footing, “Stand Your Ground” also feels light-headed and beatifically woozy.

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