Encas Serqhar three-track E.P. Mesmerise contains flourishes of instrumental electronic brilliance and promise.
Opening with its title-track Mesmerise makes a slightly uneasy start as the music falls into clichéd territory with a number of electronica tropes making their way into the song’s overall sound. Playing with genre expectations and becoming a victim of their familiarity can be a difficult line to walk.
However, the E.P. soon finds it’s footing with the brilliant ‘Solas’. With this track Encas Serqhar expands the sound of Mesmerise considerably with Daft Punk influences coming to the fore towards the song’s captivating finale. Engrossing and progressive, it is with this piece that the artist’s strengths as an electronic producer become more clear.
With the ethereal electro soundscape of ‘The Voices of Our Dead Friends’ bringing the E.P. to a thematic and introspective close the mixture of ambient and synth-pop elements found at the core of Encas Serghar’s culminate to provide a satisfying finale to Mesmerise.
Where Mesmerise falters is in the fact that there are not enough impactful moments like ‘Solas’ over the course of it’s three tracks. While there are flourishes of electronic brilliance there, they seem under-used or developed at times.
Mesmerise is a solid piece of grooving electronica that flickers with promise. And while the music may slightly lack the same inventiveness and grit of the inspirations that helped influence it, the E.P. does show a palpable commitment and understanding of the genre that could evolve into something more attention grabbing in the future
Rating: 8/10
Mesmerise E.P. by Encas Serqhar is due for release on November 7th.