823 Records is a new imprint started by Ta-ku, designed to highlight emerging artists, distributed by Jakarta Records. For their first release, they turn to a producer from Perth, Australia, to release his EP, Dawn Chorus.

Dawn Chorus isn’t an EP that will blow you away on first listen, but it will definitely grow on you. The reason for this is that Kuzich doesn’t have a big sound, so this EP mainly works in subtleties. A lot of the backbone of the EP comes from some incredibly warm bass lines, and Fender Rhodes coming in to add a jazz/R&B flavor to the proceedings. This is all fairly standard for your typical instrumental downtempo release, but Kuzich manages to spice his music up by bringing in some atypical elements, whether it be the Spanish classical guitar of “Innervisions,” a song that also features some beautiful psychedelic folk vocals courtesy of Mei Saraswati, or the inclusion of kalimba on “Rinjani Nights.” Or it could be the samba/disco beat of “Conversation” – this is probably the biggest song on the EP, and the most likely to get people dancing. All in all, though, it’s an EP that’s more about subtle beauty and meditation, one that reminds me a bit of Nobody’s Pacific Drift projects, which is one of the highest compliments I could give a musician.

I’m not sure what else Kuzich or 823 have in store for us in the future, but both have set a good tone with Dawn Chorus. It’s a beautiful, understated, and complex EP from a talented musician that shows a lot of promise.