Flight Facilities - Down to Earth (2014)

Australian dance duo Flight Facilities made a name for themselves back in 2010 with the effortlessly sultry single “Crave You”, which featured Giselle Rosselli, although some may have seen the slightly ominous take on it recently by none other than Kylie Minogue. Four years on, Hugo and Jimmy continue to adopt their aeronautical attire and have released their debut album Down To Earth via Glassnote Records. It has certainly not been rushed - the single “Clair De Lune” took a year to produce alone - and consequently the result is mature and eclectic.

Down To Earth seems at times like a compilation of dance music through the ages. First you have tracks like “Hold Me Down” and “Sunshine”, the latter an unsurprisingly summery number which features the notedly diverse vocals of Reggie Watts, and both nod towards the groove and funk eras of the 70s and 80s. And then there are songs like “Apollo” which take us back to the 90s, with its simple house beat and serene swooning vocals, or even “Heart Attack” which dips in and out of techno.

Some big names feature on the release, perhaps most notably Bishop Nehru on “Why Do You Feel”. Although the lyrics are a quite saccharin, the 18 year old rapper’s flow is gentle, and compliments the song’s ambience.

Of course all of these kinds of dance music that make up Down To Earth are still both relevant and prevalent in today’s clubbing climate, and it is the house undercurrent which keeps some coherency, although admittedly it fees like the old favourite “Crave You” was added on to the end for good measure. Nevertheless, it has a timeless feel, and certain tracks stand out as quite sublime. Blending out of the duo’s grand and somewhat ironic intro into an ethereal, Cyril Hahn-esque soundscape, “Two Bodies” is the first single released from the LP. However, the album version has an emotive sample of The Twilight Zone’s Rod Sterling arguing that an artist must be entirely proud of their art. It adds a different perspective to the radio edit, and mixes stunningly with Emma Louise’s ghostly vocals. Hopefully it promises that however down to earth Flight Facilities remain, they are proud of their debut, which is hard to fault.