Generating enough momentum from one creation to the next, these dozen kaleidoscopic and tectonic impressions register high on our Best of 2022 list.
An expansive auditory foray
DJ Hidden (aka Noël Wessels) is a Dutch musician that continues to extrapolate the finest particles from the depths of nostalgic downtempo and explosive electronics. Written during the Covid pandemic, Isoclusion is an expansive auditory foray that draws from the talented musicians’ creative skillset during isolation.
Capturing our attention immediately with the Boards of Canada infused broken beats and rhythmic swirls of “Cathode Days” to the cinematic drum’n bass fusion of atmospheric turbulence on “Potemkin Village,” there’s not a moment to breathe as we make our way through. Slowly the pulsars wind down on “Stasis,” DJ Hidden unravels slow motion ambient/jungle motifs and low-end flickering—a relaxing sojourn. The artists’ signature groove still resounds on tracks like the otherworldly rugged drums of “Sense Memory,” to the mesmerizing sonic realities of “Woolpit Green,” and the undulating bass of “Hawking Point.”
Twelve introspective tracks merging high-octane drums, fractured rhythms, and delaminated synths from the outer edges, DJ Hidden finds solace in these magnetic audio slices of life. Generating enough momentum from one creation to the next, these dozen kaleidoscopic and tectonic impressions register high on our Best of 2022 list.
“The music leaves enough room for the imagination and enables it to be the dynamic force it is supposed to be. Each track is capable of transportation, taking listeners to a world of their choosing. It can be interesting to wonder, though: have these worlds also changed, and if so, what have they changed into?” ~ Noël / DJ Hidden
Isoclusion is available on Hidden Tracks. [Bandcamp]
