Higher Ground, the new house imprint launched by Diplo, continues its ascent into prominence. Since its inception last summer, Higher Ground has already released several EPs, ranging in sound from the wacky Walker & Royce to the afro-house stylings of Born Dirty & Diplo. Higher Ground’s latest release comes from Redfield, a rising house artist who has slowly but surely gained notoriety through his remixes and a collaborative track with Axwell.
Pictures opens with its titular track—a groovy tune built around a smooth vocal melody and a chorus forged from a chopped brass samples (just try and resist tapping your foot to this one). Redfield moves into deeper house sounds on “Into You” and “Never the Same,” keeping a healthy dose of soul infused throughout the duration of the EP. Overall, Pictures is less playful than some of Higher Ground’s prior releases (i.e. “The Bizness” and “On My Mind“), but it’s a strong sign of things to come from both Redfield and Higher Ground.