Coy Haste leads us on a journey of emotions with his new EP, “Apicultura”.

Coy Haste - Apicultura

Brilliant drummer, better producer. Brad Weber a.k.a. Coy Haste is an essential member in Caribou, but his solo guise career is out of this world. The Canadian musician is an expert on emotions and storytelling. His just released “Apicultura” EP is an instrumental interpretation of a San folk origin story from the Kalahari Desert. And we love it!

Coy Haste proves to have true love of place on the carefully sculpted “West Plains”. Here he taps into T++’s phenomenal work on Wireless to craft something so joyful. The blend of Afro funk, field recordings of folk songs, and a distinctly lovely electronic sound works wonders. Full of such life and true soul, he delivers a poignant track one that delivers on a physical as well as an intellectual level. Evolution of the groove is masterful with every single detail being put in just the right place. When he does incorporate those samples, it adds to the sense of spirit and geography that adorn the whole of the work.

The scene is set by blending modern electronica production with 70s inspired afro synth, traditional percussive elements, bubblegum inspired bass, dubbed-out marimbas and chopped up rural folk recordings.

The opening track, 'Mantis' introduces the protagonist with a chugging rhythm, mesmerizing

melodies and psyched out, layered tones. Track two, 'West Plains' represents the raging waters of the flooding river - the source of the mantis's plight, which manifests as energetic, cascading rhythms. Followed by the track, 'Honeybee' tells the story of our hero: the bee who selflessly weathers the perilous water to rescue the mantis through a pulsing composition of hopeful percussion and cautioning synth melodies.

Closing the EP with 'Desert Flower' the epic journey ends with the exhausted bee resting the

mantis on a floating desert flower. Before it dies, the bee plants a seed in the mantis which grows to be the first human. With contemplative percussive pacing and a crescendo of evolving synths, this is the soundtrack to the metamorphosis.

“Apicultura” was created at Coy Haste’s home in Toronto mostly during the last summer and fall of 2020. He played a drum kit on 3 out of 4 of the tracks and most of the percussion was played live and manipulated afterwards.

The artist states that the EP was very spontaneous. “The roots of the songs mostly came out of an intense week and a half writing session, and completed over the next couple of months after that. It was a much different method than I usually take, which is to write many ideas over a year or two and finally pick the best and develop them after that”.