Words by James Guido

On his latest and greatest release Parachute, Petit Biscuit digs into the fundamentals of his sound as an artist, while also discovering a new frontier.

As if 2020 could pass by without being rescued by Petit Biscuit. His newest album Parachute has just dropped and it is everything we have grown to love from Petit Biscuit and more. Petit biscuit kicked off 2020 with single ‘I’ll Leave Again’, filling our quarantine with singles seemed to be his method of saving us as ‘Driving Thru the Night’ and ‘Burnin’ followed. These made use of the classic smooth synths and lively-acoustic-ish-lofi percussion sounds we have grown to love from the French producer.

The album opens up with the title track ‘Parachute’, and while Petit Biscuit has set the scene in past releases using a slow burner to set the tone, this one definitely breaks the trend. Opening with ultra-wide, flanged synths and setting the pulse for this much more upbeat composition by making use of electronic claps, perfectly complimented by the natural live percussion we’ve heard in other recordings. ‘Parachute’ then makes use of a more half-time groove to contrast the intensity of the opening sequence. At first listen it would be possible to liken this idea to that of Australia’s Flume, but upon closer listen it’s clear that Petit Biscuit has really made this his own. Incorporating new textures and more textured drum sounds than we’ve heard in the past from Petit Biscuit whilst continuing to push his own lane and setting the one for the remainder of this truly stellar album.

Excluding the obvious singles on the album another notable track for the fans is ‘Gwana’. While this is less pop and more instrumental it makes use of some great sample selection and is a testament to the production prowess of Petit Biscuit. Typically, these sounds are unconventional which is due to both the meticulous attention to detail in the processing and treatment of each sound and the way they have been carefully curated and selected. ‘Gwana’ is an art piece to be studied, nestled between careful blends of hip-hop and house. It has that analogue depth and warmth (Kudos to the mix engineer) which has got to make you feel some type of way. The absolute genius in this track is the way in which this softness is carried through the final chorus, I feel truly blessed to be listening to this through my studio speakers and it is definitely worth spinning this one on your best set of headphones to catch every delicate snare pop, subtle percussion hit and careful production decision that has clearly gone into this recording - a masterpiece.

Parachute is an incredible body of work from Petit Biscuit, the production standard is world class and this is so exciting and refreshing for such a young producer with the world at his shoes.