Chicago electronic producer Vince Kaichan is an omnivorous listener—or at least that’s the impression I get from the hodgepodge of styles in his own music. For roughly a decade now, he’s tussled with chiptune melodies, jazz-influenced lite-funk grooves, and serrated funk carioca rhythms. Recently, Kaichan has taken a shine to footwork, and his years of molding chiptune’s helium-sucking chirps into heartwarming melodies serve him well on this new path. On his second footwork full-length, March’s self-released Lost in Time, Kaichan appends stuttering polyrhythms to cosmic melodic flourishes (“1000 Lives”) and molds shimmering piano samples into hectic, fluttering loops that retain their alluring delicacy even alongside hiccuping bass detonations (“Hollow Planet”). Kaichan’s serene sensibilities lend clarity to his riptide rhythms while smoothing over their hard-edged blows—his beats feel like warp-speed massages. Under ordinary circumstances, footwork is best served through speakers at a volume intense enough to satisfy battlers and a crowd, but Kaichan’s version lends itself to headphones and quiet solitude. For those of us who have to spend our pandemic days circulating between the same few rooms by ourselves, Lost in Time can provide a cleansing peaceful feeling with a shot of energy to propel us through the grayness. v
Chicago producer Vince Kaichan steers footwork toward serenity on Lost in Time
