Nontourist
Nontourist is a beat-driven and often instrumental music project. Dark beats, industrial strength basslines and dirty piano samples make up most of what you’ll hear — in addition to guitars, vocals and collaborations with other artists.
The 7-track EP ntep was released in 2002. You can purchase it in MP3 format at most online shops, including CDBaby and iTunes.
Although Kamm has played with more pop-oriented groups like ExtraVery and Carbonfour, Nontourist largely eschews that for an electronic-based, more downtempo/trip-hop-oriented route. You immediately get a sense where Nontourist is heading within the first seconds of “You’re Still Okay”. A sparse, piano melody winds its away over a subdued bassline and sharp rhythms. Perhaps the closest comparison might be the calmer moments in Third Eye Foundation’s music, right before Matt Elliot unleashed the ghoulies, tortured kittens, and haunted playgrounds. It’s background music, best reserved for walking down dimly lit hallways with an escaped mental patient about to leap out from behind any door.
“Avoid Separation” and “Lay Across” delves deeper in Nontourist’s Bristol influences; you almost expect to hear Tricky’s sinister whisperings come in amidst the songs’ staggered, echoing breakbeats, reverbed keyboards, and eerie field recordings. For the large part, Nontourist’s music is instrumental. But when vocals do appear, as on “Alpine”, and to a lesser extent, “Thursday”, they’re used more for atmosphere than anything else.
Both tracks feature Tanya Reed and Brenna McLaughlin’s exotic jazz singer routine whilst cooing over Nontourist’s beats. It may sound like the stereotypical downtempo setup, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. It worked great on Mus’ first album, and it works equally well here, especially on “Thursday”, which occasionally throws in a nice drum n’ bass flourish to keep things interesting.
The EP’s closing track wraps things up on a slightly brighter air, with more upbeat textures and Reed’s vocals appearing alongside the crackling beats. Thankfully, however, they don’t completely disrupt the darker aspects of Nontourist’s music that I find particularly appealing.
Excerpted from review at opus.fm by Jason Morehead.