a1 Brassica - Everything a2 Brassica - At Least I Know Why b1 Brassica - Smoulders b2 Brassica - Ancient Mariner Hayat Zor is a beautiful blend of rave-nostalgia, 80s electro-pop and Italo, all shot through with a melancholic, wistful air. Working with analog synths, vintage drum machines, live instrumentation, and the help of a few friends and collaborators along the way. Encompassing four original productions and two remixes from Gavin Russom and Petrels, ‘Hayat Zor’ is a collection on which emotional resonance and technical expertise sit side by side. Dancefloor nous, enabled through a love of Italo Disco and Balearic convention, is a strong presence on the EP, with Wright pairing this quality with his enduring spiritual kinship with the music of British new wave artists such as New Order, Cabaret Voltaire and Devo. Although such reference points can be clearly grasped by the listener it is, as ever, to Wright’s immense credit that he employs them with such deftness he could be considered every bit an equal. Opening track ‘Everything’, reunites Brassica with vocalist Stuart Warwick, (who previously made an appearance last year’s ‘Temple Fortune’ EP) to create a soaring slice of synth driven pop. Washes of emotive pads, insistent chords and a yearning lead line combine with Warwick’s intimate vocal performance, which restrained through much of the song, until lent a push forward by a drum break as ‘Everything’ crescendos, goes on to display its genuinely anthemic qualities. Competitors in music related quizzes for years to come would do well to note the presence of vocalist Bobbie Gordon on ‘Smoulders’, who as a backing singer for (both the Noisettes and) Adele serves to cement an improbable link between the million selling chanteuse and Wright or indeed the other collaborators on this record. The track sees Gordon’s rich diva vox squaring off with live drum fills and a throbbing bedrock of synth chords to create a slice of pulsing 80’s pop.