Offshore – Offshore

Final Goodbyes

Offshore was the alias of Scottish producer Ewan Robertson. As Offshore, Robertson produced two EPs and one other album. Unfortunately, he passed away while having heart surgery for treatment of his Marfan Syndrome, ending the short time of Offshore. This self-titled album that is being released almost three years after his death is a collection of songs that Robertson was working on when he passed. Through Robertson’s label, these songs have been finished as close as possible to what is believed to be the original vision for this album.

Offshore starts off solidly with its short opening song “J Bouncey,” which has a really clear beat. This beat flows seamlessly into the next song, “Make It Up,” and hangs out in the background for its entirety. The seamlessness that the beat creates makes it sound almost as if “Make It Up” was built up from the base of “J Bouncey.” “Barden’s Burden” picks up from there and grooves along, pushing the album along with it. It is after these first three songs that the rest of album finds its niche for a beat and the other songs become really developed.

Offshore is pure electronic sound, which allows it to have two of its greatest qualities: simplicity and cleanliness. Nothing on this album is overly spastic and all the beats and rhythms are purposefully placed. Most songs, like the opening two, fade in and out of each other perfectly and, at times, it may not sound like a whole new song has started. Some songs, though, have a definite independent quality, so that they can have listeners drawn to them but are not alienated from the rest of the album. Though Robertson was not able to complete Offshore himself, his creativity and control over his art are still very evident and this album makes for a good lasting reminder of what he was capable of doing.