J-LOWER :: Retro Futurism (EC Underground)

Within a dozen tracks, ambient, techno, electronics, and many emotional rhythms drift by the landscape and inching their way through AI-inspired vistas.

A transformative journey with vintage soundtracks

Retro Futurism sees J-LOWER (aka Jeff Lowe) creating vast and expansive soundscapes diving back and forth between the past and future. Within a dozen tracks, ambient, techno, electronics, and many emotional rhythms drift by the landscape and inching their way through AI-inspired vistas. “Safe Passage” opens with shuffling ambient-electronica reminding us of an earlier time with bubbling synths and brushed Detroit techno grooves to soothe the soul. Showcasing a transformative journey with vintage soundtracks, modern techniques merge with old-fashioned aesthetics.

Blissful and impacting, thudding breaks take shape via “Portal,” as “UFO” and “Under The Influence” dip full-throttle into classic techno dynamics with weaving vocal threads. Highlights form on the breakbeat-electro beauty of “A Trax” and the acid-swirls of “Babylon Dreams,” while drum’n bass lava flows persist on “Just Swayin” and “Can We Dance.”

An aptly titled album chock-full of expressive electronica in all its various shapes and forms, Retro Futurism drives full-speed through various time-zones where echoes of artists like Cybotron, Adam F, 4Hero, Juan Atkins, and Kevin Saunderson linger.

Retro Futurism is available on EC Underground. [Bandcamp]