ASC - Vanishing Point - VINYL LP

The world has changed, we shouldn't try and pretend otherwise. While we were shut away in isolation our routines shifted, social patterns evolved, and our hopes and dreams were twisted into cobwebs we're still trying to wipe from our fingers. Ziúr tentatively approached this on her last album Antifate, an ambitious and complex hybrid pop fever dream that looked back to a Medieval escapist fantasy as the scent of revolution seemed to hum in the air. But when restrictions were eased, she found herself staring down a discombobulated society that had trapped itself in a spiral of microwaved nostalgia and detached, narcotic repetition. Eyeroll then is Ziúr's musical panacea, a tincture to wake us from our creative slumber and prompt external connection and reflection. It's a polyphonous hex that demands human interaction, and Ziúr's hand-picked alliance of collaborators - Elvin Brandhi, Abdullah Miniawy, Iceboy Violet, Juliana Huxtable, Ledef, and James Ginzburg - each provide distinct voices that together herald a bewildering sonic epoch.Ziúr's palette had to evolve to match the scope of the project, but it was pure necessity that informed the album's defining tone. Recording mostly at night, Ziúr was conscious of the noise she was making so developed a unique way to record organic percussion. Using a set of rototoms - low profile tunable drums - she scratched, scraped and gently tapped the skins to build up the undulating and unstable rhythmic backdrop for each track. It's the first sound we hear on the opener 'Eyeroll', rattling like lost marbles against Elvin Brandhi's primal croaks and screams. And when Brandhi's twisted articulations form words, Ziúr matches the energy with chaotic thuds and serrated blasts of saturated electronics. InchI roll the shittiest cigarette,Inch she squeals like she's about to start a mosh pit at Paris's GRM Studios. Without pause, Abdullah

ASC returns with a full length LP showcasing his vast armory of musical ability in a controlled, contemplative reflection of his inner self, laid bare in breaks-driven form for the enjoyment of Spatial fans new and old - continuing the ongoing celebration and evolution of classic atmospheric drum & bass.A1 - Fear of the DeepCurious, high twinkling bells cautiously introduce 'Fear of the Deep', reminiscent of classic sci-fi movies building atmosphere and intrigue, before the hi-hat heavy, snappy break previously used in Spatial classic Essence (also by ASC) makes a welcome return. The 2-step - occasionally broken - beat pattern drives the track along with a darkly, investigative energy, while a typically deep bassline rumbles beneath, setting the scene perfectly.A2 - Concentric CirclesA change of pace for ASC here with 'Concentric Circles', exploring a jazzier spectrum of influences not often broached in his production adventures, with broken scattershot beats toying and playing around a wealth of reverberating brass samples to create a minimal yet quietly imposing undertone. Double bass props up the composition wonderfully, completing an exquisitely quirky entry to the LP.B1 - Say ItOpening with rousing strings and quietly ominous effects, ASC utilizes a unique fusion of melancholic atmospherics, jazzy basslines and a classic old-school breakbeat to form 'Say It'. Dense, purposeful kicks stomp across the mix as the strings and synthwork wash in the foreground, developing a somber, contemplative tone to the track throughout, before a wonderful outro ending with those delightful strings.B2 - Virtual WorldFiltered Hot Pants breaks gently ease their way to the forefront of a beautifully constructed intro to 'Virtual World', trademark crispness and intricacy etched onto the beats effortlessly, as we've come to expect from ASC. Delicately nuanced vocal samples combine with

Vinyl LP pressing. Nika Roza Danilova has been recording music as Zola Jesus for more than a decade. For the majority of that time, she's been on Sacred Bones Records, and Okovi marks her reunion with the tag. Fittingly, the 11 electronics-driven songs on Okovi share musical DNA with her early work on Sacred Bones. The music on this record was written in pure catharsis, and as a result, the sonics are heavier, darker, and more exploratory. In addition to the contributions of Danilova's longtime live bandmate Alex DeGroot, producer/musician WIFE, cellist/noise-maker Shannon Kennedy from Pedestrian Deposit, and percussionist Ted Byrnes all helped build the textural universe of these songs. Above all, Zola Jesus has crafted a profound meditation on loss and reconciliation that stands tall alongside the great works of it's genre. Okovi speaks of tragedy with great wisdom and clarity. It's songs plumb dark depths, but they reflect light as well.