electronic/bass music/dubstep/purple

Great summertime electronic album. Well constructed, good pacing and sequencing, nice shifting grooves and layers of varied synths and effects, but also totally fun and immediate. Heavy low end, but melodies and textures are pretty bright. Some upbeat stuff, some slower stuff, some spare moments but mostly pretty lush.

RIYL: Mount Kimbie, early James Blake, Starfoxxx, Joker, Lapalux, Jamie xx

1. rising choral vocals, claps, high frequency synths flying by. drums kick in just before 1:00, boomy kicks, upbeat woodblocks, chimes and other bits. upbeat intro, high mass/low weight. 2:53
2. mellow keys, then loping dry drums kick in. rubbery lazery bassline and buzzy swaying mid-range accompaniment give it a nice shuffle, high pitched synths flit in and out. occasional bleepy accents. 5:03
3. bright matte keys, stuttery drum machines, then deep sub bass and lower pitched organ with nice mellow reggae skank. original keys and organs play nicely off one another, new melody and breathy chopped fem vox swoop in around 1:15. nice moog-y synth lines, refracted 90s r&b and new jack swing vibes. excellent summer jam on an album full of them. 4:25
4. opens with hectic bare 808 and some sonar pings, like maybe 80s bambaataa or something. hazy synth pad enters with glitchy arpeggios, giving some color. slow swaying high pitched synths later lend some calm while there. slightly quivery chopped female syllable in parts later. 5:05
5. mellow acoustic piano, theme song like. bright bells fold in, then pitched up indecipherable vox and upbeat cymbal ticks. bass comes in around 1:00, then southern rap drum machines start rolling and things get all chopped up. organ fragments and dubby echoes and a touch of guitar for a bit in the middle. piano reappears later on as other stuff pares back, dances with organ for a bit. abrupt stop. 4:38
6. organs and hiccuping percussion, shuddering bass and synth streaks enter at :30. piano loop in background, maybe the buzzy bassline is the piano run through a bunch of effects? drums slowly get tickier and more intricate. melodic accents give slightly stilted feel at the end but feels like it’s doing that on purpose to play around. 4:11
7. creepy minor key synth plinks. trappy southern drums and bassline kick in, then higher pitched (but not loud) synth swirl later, and quiet mid-range choral pads much later, some glitchiness on both. a bit less busy than most of the rest (though the busyness is mostly restrained and thoughtful throughout). 4:38
8. bright watery laid back keys, upbeat intermittent female vocal chops, drums and bassline crash in with intermittent mid-range skanking beep. bassline is mostly really low and clean with just a touch of filth floating on top. restrained cowbell added around midpoint. long pare back and rebuild in home stretch. bare slightly reverbed piano line for last 0:30ish. 5:58
9. just an 808 break for the first :30, upbeat, clicky, not too busy. then housey pads and vocal chops, followed by knotty rubbery 303 bassline. a little later, housey piano accents, and then more shimmery pads. nice breakdown at midpoint. house atmospherics laid over breakbeats, also reminds me a bit of jazzy 90s electronica with a modern feel. 5:03
10. descending shimmering synth shards, offset by intermittent rising synth squiggle. then looped chimes, female choral pads in background. tentative handclaps and snares keep ttime. drums and bassline drop in, bass is another slab of low low frequencies with a bit of electric buzz like #8. more keys, swaying pads, other not-quite-melodic streaks, mellow acoustic piano lines. syrupy h-town funk via UK bass production. evaporates just a bit too early. 3:46
11. chugging skeletal jungle snares and wistful bitcrushed melodic loop. kicks slot in, then bassline, low and dirty but also kind of sunny. echoed snare or clap or something, then slightly menacing moog type whine. moog whine loses menace, rising choral pads way in back brighten things up. propulsive and intricate but keeps half time feel, nice restrained take on big jungle closer. ends cold. 5:42

recommended: 3, 10, 8, 5, 11, any