Moscow’s Nphonix and Barcelona’s Voltanov team up as Lowres, and Mechta is their first release together—a warm, dusty four-tracker on Sloth Boogie that wears its lo-fi leanings proudly and, at under nineteen minutes, is gone before you’ve had a chance to tire of it.
Opening track Janwary establishes the record’s character immediately: tape-warmed drums with real weight, a chord stab that sounds like it’s been left out in the rain, and a bassline that slinks rather than strides. The production has a lovely analog crunch to it—everything feels slightly fuzzy at the edges, as if the whole EP were mixed through a well-loved desk—whilst the swing in the hats keeps the groove loose without ever letting it sag.
Title track Mechta—Russian for “dream”—is the EP’s most patient moment, unfurling a hazy pad and a muted, off-centre melody over a deeper four-to-the-floor. Morozhenoe (“ice cream”) offers a welcome contrast, brightening the palette with quicker percussion and a lighter, almost playful bass riff. Together the pair show the duo’s range: the record can brood and it can smile, both with the same dusty fidelity.
Closer Trenerovka—“workout”—strips things back to a simple, functional loop, the kind of track that locks a room in without needing to say much. It’s a fitting end to a short, sweet EP that understands the value of restraint. Mechta doesn’t try to reinvent deep house, but its analog character, its warmth and its brevity make it a thoroughly charming debut from a pairing we’d happily hear far more from.
