Manchester native Loz Goddard has been crafting high-quality releases since 2015, garnering early support from the likes of Mr. Scruff, Mike Huckaby, Move D and Session Victim. The ever-eclectic producer has since partnered up with esteemed labels such as Seb Wildblood’s Church imprint and deep-house institution – Quintessentially, Loz has since reinvented his sound with an experimental edge and a penchant for live instrumentation. It’s Goddard’s ability to explore a wide range of genres and tempos whilst maintaining an authentically personal sound that is particularly special. Whether it’s the slow ambient motions inspired by the likes of Boards of Canada or the rattling breakbeat workouts imbued with the spirit of the nineties U.K underground, this northern powerhouse delivers a deeply immersive sound design to be utilised in the club and for home listening. His latest work has been manifested in the form of the ‘Balloon Tree Road’, an LP set for release on Oath – purveyors of visionary electronic decadence, heavily conceptual and forward-facing in their creative output.
The long-play record opens idyllically with the soothing tones of ‘Before Times’, the track that would ultimately convince Loz to pursue an extended project as opposed to the shorter bounds of an EP. Airy tones and melodic plucks drift like a careless breeze through this introductory segment, gently lowering listeners into the rich narrative of ‘Balloon Tree Road’. The subsequent composition – ‘Bye For Now’ layers percussive elements atop slowly soaring pads and warbling keys, creating an organic atmosphere filled with wispy textures and live-sounding rhythmic production.
The first single to be unveiled this November will be ‘When Time Slows It Feels Weird’ which sees Loz return to the floor-focused delights of breakbeat sampling. The kaleidoscopic style in which this established producer operates his Reform Radio show can be best heard in tracks such as this. Goddard meanders smoothly through downtempo chordal structures and jazz-like melodic improvisations to create an intersecting masterpiece with astounding presence both in headphones and through the weighty structure of a towering soundsystem. The tumbling breakbeat contrasts tastefully against the space-age timbre of the project, encouraging listeners to sway carelessly with the sound of broken-up kick and snare combinations.
‘Sun 27’ sees our Manchester based producer make full use of his TR-8 drum machine, delivering sharp electro decadence across harmonic arpeggiator patterns that extend dreamily through the arrangement. The rising tension through the first of the track is released like a barrage with the introduction of renegade breakbeats and a bouncy FM bassline.
‘Orange Blue Green’ will be the second single to be revealed from the LP at the start of next year. Sculpted from a field recording sent to Goddard by his significant other during a walk underneath a canal bridge in heavy rain. The natural reverb of the recording fills the track with spacious presence and lifelike motion. The scattering sound of water droplets provides the backdrop for a celestial arpeggio ensemble that feels endlessly hypnotic. Loz’s ability to manipulate such ethereal soundscapes is understandable – he cites Aphex Twin and Squarepusher as significant influential figures.
‘With You’ glides elegantly through four-to-the-floor lo-fi house rhythms, expanding freely into calming strings and synth layering that feels akin to the bloom of delicate flowers. The warm embrace of Goddard’s chord progressions matches perfectly with harmonic vocal chops and reverberated drum claps.
The LP draws to a close with ‘Train To Somewhere’, also the last single to be released from the album. It’s a warm, slow-burning infusion of rising chordal elements and elation inducing strings. A perfectly sombre end to an enigmatic and glowing record filled with live-instrumentation and melancholic synth programming, this track was created in Goddard’s formative years with the intention to be used in a long-form release setting. The conclusive moments of this record is nothing short of immaculate, gloriously combining the ambient presence of the previous tracks, with a prominent four-to-the-floor kick and seraphim pads. Loz Goddard is welcoming the new year with a colourful and optimistic record filled with earthy tones, setting the scenes for much-needed musical regrowth in the early stages of 2022.
WWD; Hey Loz, thanks for chatting to us. You live in Manchester, UK – are you a born and bred local? Can you tell us a little about your childhood and life before music?
Hey, my pleasure! I have lived in Manchester pretty much all my life, so yeah, a born and bred local. I lived over in Sheffield for a while back in 2011-2014 but nearly always found myself back in Manchester for events even while over there.
Music has nearly always been a part of my life in some way. I started out in bands after learning to play the drums, and I was messing about jamming with my cousins and friends between the ages of 13-17. I wasn’t taking music fully seriously until maybe age 21, so back then my time outside of playing drums & guitar was spent skateboarding, BMXing & gaming pretty much.
I did tend to spend a lot of time outdoors, my parents always said I never stopped when I was younger. I chilled out for a bit when I was 15-16 and did quite a lot of fishing, but that ended up taking a back seat for a number of years when I discovered electronic music.
Around age 18 – 22 I spent a hell of a lot of time frequenting various Manchester clubs. So, I guess I’ve always surrounded myself with music. I was into techno and progressive house back then mainly, so spent plenty of time in Sankeys seeing DJ’s like John Digweed, Sasha, Adam Beyer etc. I was also big into the Warp Records stuff, but there were way less nights with that kinda thing, so ended up installing Ableton and started making some IDM style ideas – that’s how I moved from being in bands to a completely solo project.
WWD: We’ve listened to a selection of your releases over the years on labels including Church, Quintessentials and Fina Records. How would you describe your sound to a new listener?
I’d say my sound is deep dusty house music flecked with jazz & ambient. I think there’s more of a sway towards breaks and non 4/4 beats now though, rather than just ‘deep house’ music.
WWD: What have been your career-defining releases or moments?
I’d definitely say my ‘Loose Jams’ EP on Outplay. That release sold out really fast and was supported by a number of artists I massively looked up to at the time. Was a crazy place to be in having your first solo vinyl out and it being supported in that way. I remember Detroit Swindle played it and that led to a booking in Manchester from a bunch of chillers called Doodle. They are some of my really close mates now too so yeah that record not only put my name out there, but also created some long-lasting friendships!
WWD: The last few months we have listened to selection of singles released from your forthcoming album ‘Balloon Tree Road’ on Oath. What’s your background with the label and how was this project born with them?
I first heard about the label when I saw that fellow Manc Hidden Spheres had a record out on there. It was actually the artwork that struck me first, then the music was right up my street too. The 2nd release came from Moomin, an artist I have loved for a long time now so I thought, this could be a nice place to put a record out.
I’d already put together the full album (with a final tracklist) by the time I’d added Oath to my list of potential places to send. My vision for the album was to have full sleeve art and the Oath artwork couldn’t have been a better fit. In the end I sent the full album over to them only, and it was done.
WWD: The album is a slower pace, chilled house offering, with atmospheric elements throughout. Was this the goal when creating it, or did you go with the flow in the studio?
The goal was to create something quite chilled overall, but with a few tracks that could fit in at clubs too. That is essentially how my lockdown listening can be summed up, so I sort of mirrored that to an extent. What I am listening to at the time affects my studio output in a big way.
It didn’t feel forced at any point though. Everything I made for the album just naturally slotted into place, bar 1 or 2 rogue tracks. The mixing and sound selection was deliberately done in a way to keep things sounding organic and a bit dusty and I think that can be heard throughout the LP.
WWD: About your creative process, has the last 2 years been harder for you in terms of production, or have you managed to take some positives – if so, what, and how?
I think the opposite you know. The last 2 years have been so much nicer. There has been so much less pressure on putting out records and finishing tracks, partially because I said to myself a few years ago that I am not going to neglect my other hobbies as much as I have in the past. Changing up what I’m doing day-to-day is important to me, so I’ve put less pressure on churning out music and got back fishing, climbing, and having some proper gaming downtime.
The result of this pressure-less approach I think has made my creative output much better and it’s been more fun to have a studio session, as I’m not viewing it as a ‘2nd job’ quite so much as I once was. The lack of gigs has helped with relieving the pressure too, as there’s been next to no gig opportunities while clubs have been shut. Of course, I’m missing playing out, but the lockdowns have kinda taught me to pick and choose my gigs a bit more selectively rather than just playing whatever party comes up.
WWD: Do you play differently in your sets to what this album offers?
Oh yeah for sure. Right now, I am playing much harder than I once was. I take a lot of acid house, techno, electro and breaks kinda stuff to gigs nowadays and there’s much less focus on the disco/sample house sound stuff I used to make and play. In all honesty, getting booked for the same kind of shows and getting remix requests for the same styles of music got a bit boring, so a change was due.
That said, there’s definitely still warmth and chilled-ness to my sets in places, that I can’t ever see going away.
WWD: Which track is a must-listen from the album and why?
I have a soft spot for the A2 ‘Bye For Now’. This one was the 2nd track I made that led me to pursue the album idea seriously. A good 90% of the drums and percussion you hear in that track are played live, and I’ve been really happy overall with how that one turned out.
WWD: Finally, tell us what you think is the best electronic music album ever made and why?.
Damn this is a hard question… It’s going to have to be either ‘Music Has The Right To Children’ by Boards of Canada or ‘Hard Normal Daddy’ by Squarepusher. Both of those albums have been staples in my life ever since I started listening to electronic music. ‘Roygbiv’ by BoC was the first electronic music track I ever really heard of that kinda ambient/IDM style, so that is a special one for me. Saying that, ‘Hard Normal Daddy’ just has that amazing Jazz / Drum & Bass crossover that I’ve not really heard any other artist nail down as good as that. Hard decision but let’s keep those two as my joint 1st!