The Moving Mountains EP is the first new material the world has heard from New York producer Michna in nearly four years, since the release of his highly-acclaimed debut album Magic Monday in 2008. It's been quite a while between releases, but Michna's been anything but idle during this period – he's done everything from painting to production for the NBA to remixes for DM Stith, Joy Orbison and Kelis. And all the while, he's been working on new material, taking his time to record a follow-up to Magic Monday that represents another great leap forward in terms of both songwriting and production.
Moving Mountains demonstrates the result of this endeavor, and the four tracks here provide a neat summation of Michna's versatility, covering more musical ground in 20 minutes than most artists do in an entire album. Opening track "Titanium Glaciers" is as sleek and futuristic as its name might suggest, while the "Wanted Exotic" provides quite the contrast, its house-influenced sounds giving the clearest nods to Michna's "other" career as a club DJ in NYC. "Through the City on the Edge" finds a happy medium between these two extremes, bobbing along on a driving bassline and sounding for all the world like it would indeed do a fine job of soundtracking a ride through a city in some distant unknowable future. And the EP's closing track—the intriguingly titled "The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale"—is a stately piano-led instrumental that fades slowly into an extended outro of birdcalls and atmospheric echoes.
Ghostly International GI-161 10"/Digital