Electronic music has undergone its fair share of changes this year; after James Blake’s now-famous condemnation of the aggressive “frat-boy” culture of dub step in the United States, we’ve seen acts like Daft Punk choose to smoothly recall the past and Disclosure burn bright towards the future. Now, at a time when it seems that anything goes within indie electronic and its varying degrees of sub-genres, CFCF’s Music For Objects is a warm, wondrous collection meant to please all. 
Mike Silver, the mastermind behind CFCF, is a relatively young producer from Montreal who’s already amassed a dynamic and eclectic selection of releases. In 2012, he shared the instrumental EP Exercises, eight atmospheric, Philip Glass-inspired tracks that found rave reviews for its simple, captivating nature. Follow-up Music For Objects may appear to tackle a straightforward theme– track titles include “Lamp,” “Keys,” and “Bowl”– but Silver fleshes his work out to its richest and fullest; Music For Objects represents a bare, basic beauty in its most realized form.
The gentle beats of CFCF are cushioned by inspiration from a wide variety of sources, but most especially film. This time around, Music For Objects found its sea legs thanks in part to Notebooks on Cities and Clothes, a 1989 documentary on Japenese fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto. Like the film’s composer Laurent Petitgand, who faced the task of creating music inspired by articles of clothing, Music For Objects takes ordinary things and transforms them into something far grander.
“Glass” opens the EP in tinkering, pulsating waves, spinning coolly and carefully over the course of four minutes. Immediately, it’s clear that Music For Objects is something special; even for those who don’t typically enjoy their beats so minimal, there’s an undeniable magic to these eight tracks that could make anyone a believer. On “Bowl,” delicate whispers of synth usher in a selection of sleepy, comforting keys, while “Turnstile” evokes the woozy Japanese influence of the film that set it all into motion.
While the fast-paced, dizzying delight that is “Keys” certainly comes close, there is no single album standout on Music For Objects. When taken as a whole and appreciated for its superior display of subtly, the EP truly works its wonders.
3 / 5 bars
06 – Perfume
CFCF – “Perfume”
07 – Lamp
CFCF – “Lamp”
