Part of club music’s great power is that it simultaneously provides a source of community whilst facilitating a freeing space of individual self-expression. For DJ and producer Kim Ann Foxman, her education came courtesy of San Francisco’s underground rave culture. Born in Hawaii and spending her formative years in San Francisco before settling in New York, Foxman came to prominence in the dance scene as one of the central contributing members of Hercules & Love Affair’s first two releases before striking out as a renowned DJ, producer and the founder of Firehouse Records.
A decade after her initial success within the Love Affair crew, Foxman shared the seeds of a new project, Pleasure Planet with a four-track self-titled Ep. In-between releasing solo material under her own name, Foxman continued collaborating with her esteemed Pleasure Planet partners, Andrew Potter and Brian Hersey during late-night studio-sessions, driven by improvisational playing, to create the nine effervescent arrangements that make-up their long-awaited debut record. The lucidity of the record, sonically, was effectively channelled by their respective recollections of youth shaped by the unique sense of community cultivated in underground and DIY clubs.
In serving a nod to the sonic stylings that soundtracked their collected clubbing experiences, the trio seamlessly blend vibrant 80s inflected guitar motifs, evoking Duran Duran’s earlier output, against a hazy vapour of slinky synths and dense electronic bass riffs on ‘Alien’ while the more subdued tempo of ‘Planet Love’ contains moments in the opening bars which feel distantly related to Madonna’s late 90s collaboration with William Orbit before its dense beat descends. What’s particularly compelling about these nine tracks (aside from the unwavering excellence in the production) is that they don’t present themselves as belonging strictly to one setting or time period which makes them suitable companions in a variety of settings: communal and solitary, adding texture to habitual tasks or special occasions.
Intentionally or not, the nocturnal setting of Pleasure Planet’s recording sessions transferred into the overall essence of the darker and more introspective numbers on the record, such as ‘Sophon’, a highlight of the LP, which is delicately decorated with illuminating frosty synth notes. And while this is typically the quintessential time of day to part-take in the euphoria of electronically focused music, Pleasure Planet is much more meditative in its essence. This is enhanced by the soothing New Age sensibilities on tracks like ‘Endless’ and in the ruminative rhythmic chimes punctuating ‘Saved By the Bells’, a song that serves as a gorgeously soothing centrepiece to the record.
Existentialism plays a central role in Pleasure Planet’s limited lyricism. Within seconds of receiving a warm greeting on the kaleidoscopic opener ‘Numbers’, the listener is prompted to leave any sense of ego at the door as Foxman cooly intones, “This isn’t happening to you / It’s happening anyway” before further stating that, at the end of the day, “We are all numbers”. This pursuit of thought sets audiences up for an engaged listening experience, one that makes you consider your role in the wider world surrounding you, and even beyond that, as ‘Alien’ attests. These songs, dynamic and assured in their minimalism, are comforting in their nostalgic temperaments but are not without their challenges in the excellently abstract narratives that force you to delve deeper.
