Son Zept - A

Extralife · February 1, 2020

https://resistbelfast.bandcamp.com/

Some of the freshest IDM I've heard in a fair while. Also digitals are currently "Name Your Price", so you can't go wrong with that.

From utopian-synthetic-barn-burners to solo accordion tributes to the late Daniel Johnston, ‘A’ is a diverse snapshot into Son Zept’s musical mind. With previous releases drawing comparisons to Aphex Twin and Autechre and gaining the support of the likes of Objekt and Avalon Emerson, Son Zept’s latest release stretches into more genre-bending territory.

Starting off with ‘1D2D Rise’ which Son Zept says “came from those dimly lit 3am sessions that happen again and again with the headphones on really tight. Trying to find the right sounds and building and building until it’s done and then I have to head to bed.” ‘Arrival’ is a Minimal/Maximal idea being built from the ground up that morphs into a synthetic and euphoric climax that matches perfectly with hyper-colourful dreamscape in music video by Jennifer Mehigan. ‘Axis Praxis’ and ‘Level’ are two utopian barn-burners, with both of them optimistic and propulsively heavy. For Son Zept ‘Again’ and ‘Radio Silence’ sit as a pair, “they are both nostalgic but in different directions. I think with Again having this kind of paused-future-looking-back feel and with Radio Silence using recordings of tuning an old FM radio then I add this old synth tin-whistle melody.” On the last track, ‘some things can’t last a long time’, Son Zept says “this is my tribute to Daniel Johnston recorded at another dimly lit 3am on the night I heard he died. I played it on my grandmother’s accordion that was given to me when she passed away.”