Craig Olsen - Electronic Collision (EP Review)

Craig Olsen is a DJ, originally from New York but currently residing in San Diego. Whilst music is not his full time job per se, it's undenuable his talent and his ability to craft a beat from absolutely nothing. Whilst listneing to this EP i could hear very strong influences from Hudson Mohawke, with the way a beat builds from the way the bass kicks in on the main riffs of the tunes. Regarding the fact that this is only Craig's second EP I think it's fair to say the future can only be bright and ascending from here on in. The EP peaks with Float Away, my personal favourite on the whole EP. What this track manages to do is set the tone for the whole of the album, it persists throughout with an incredibly effective and hard hitting beat, the way this track initially builds reminds me of something that Axwell of Swedish House Mafia would create, it's very house and it also combines this deep, underlying funk that I can really get on board with.

Say So is a track that takes a while to build up to it's climax, but when it peaks you'll be wondering why Craig Olsen has been holding this away for a good half of the song, it's a very deep, underwater vibe that consumes the whole track and ultimately the wateriness of the soothing, very pop-py beat helps this track to elevate itself. But what's really interesting is the way that the track evolves over time within the confines of it's own 3 minutes, building from a bare bones modest sound to a very bombastic, big bet at the end that just oozes it's confidence in it's techno surroundings.

One of the things I love most about this EP though is that it sounds fun, and that's a very hard sound to create without making it come across as precocious or cheesey, however that isn't the case here because there's a degree of personality in these songs, they're very ambient and electric, creating some very positive vibes that help this EP to progress towards its finale, which is the fantastic Say So. I'd definitely recommend that Techno/Dance/Electronic fans check out this EP because it really is good, I'm excited to see what Craig Olsen puts out in the future!

8/10