Straight & Arrow by FaltyDL

Drew Lustman aka FaltyDL has been a name to watch for quite some time now. With his new album for Ninja Tune (in partnership with his new label Blueberry Records), “Hardcourage,” he’s ready to step up and join the electronic music elite.

“Straight & Arrow” offers a clear idea why. FaltyDL makes pitch-perfect, beautiful, widescreen club music that works as well pumped from ear buds straight to your cerebral cortex as blasted from club soundsystems. He’s a technically gifted, subtle producer who understands that soul should never be sacrificed to tastefulness.

It’s a mark of how highly he’s thought of in the world of electronic music that he can command remixes from both Four Tet and Gold Panda. Four Tet re-imagines the original, initially with the vocal hook and shuffling beat but evolving into a late-night crescendo of acid-tinged electronica, while Gold Panda chops things up to create an alternate groove. In between, Mike Q and Divoli S’vere concentrate on the beat, piling kicks and claps together for a sparse but compelling floorfiller.

FaltyDL has been turning heads since 2008, when Mike Paradinas signed his USified versions of UK Garage to Planet Mu and released them on an unsuspecting world. Since then, Lustman has looked to expand and evolve his signature sound over two albums, an EP and three singles for the label. In addition, he has released an afrobeat-inspired 12”, “Mean Streets Pt 1” with Loefah’s Swamp81 label, a single on Ramp backed with a remix from Jamie XX and begun releasing collaborations with Machinedrum online. An in-demand remixer, he has made versions for the likes of Seun Kuti (Fela’s son), Mount Kimbie, The XX, Scuba, Photek, Anthony Shake Shakir, Jose James, Alice Russell and others. Recently he supported Radiohead in New York and topped Thom Yorke’s office playlist.

Drew Lustman aka FaltyDL was born and grew up in New Haven, Connecticut. These days he lives in Brooklyn, New York. Releasing music for Planet Mu, Ramp, Rush Hour, 50 Weapons, Hemlock, Swamp81, his own Blueberry Records imprint and, of course, Ninja Tune.