Attempt to find a convenient musical pigeon-hole for Zapatilla and you’ll find him slipping from your grasp and zig-zagging in unexpected yet compelling directions.
His transcendent debut EP comprises two ambitious, shapeshifting tracks. Initially opener Crumbling Down suggests a dance-floor focused blueprint, before its arrangement of percussion and classical instruments come into focus around the 3 minute mark, the result is a steadfastly organic and emotional opus. Its sister track Thumb Piano is a more abstract affair, with its eclectic instrumentation anchored to a palette of synths and electronica.
supported by 12 fans who also own “Crumbling Down / Thumb Piano”
Like so many others, this came like a bolt out of the blue and, even though it's well before payday, I had to have this astonishing album on vinyl to prove it exists. The feel of the tunes makes me feel like the Impressions do, Curtis Mayfield, the big spaces and instinctive horns and stuff drifting in and out. Great grooves and I can see lots of ghosts nodding along to this with big smiles on their faces. At last! Anthony Cottrell