Textured light and dark tones cascade as Eskostatic’s debut on the prolific France-based Ultimae imprint unearths a vast 75-minute collection of tempered low-end odysseys well worth the price of admission.
The opening press release describes Serpentines & Valleys as “inspired by the unique landscapes and lights from the Ligurian region—the Swedish and Dutch duo delivers a pure road trip album with lush ambient and downtempo compositions.” While we wholeheartedly agree, the elements of these two interlocking genres is fundamental from start to end on this album, yet Eskostatic (aka Martin Nonstatic and Marcel Montel) demonstrates controlled Berlin-dub extracts that are nothing short of contagious alongside dark-ambient layers. Harking back to the early days of Monolake and Pole, there are wide-open bass fissures spread throughout Serpentines & Valleys that subtlety ebb and flow yielding a blend of dub techno strains and liquified glitch. Textured light and dark tones cascade as Eskostatic’s debut on the prolific France-based Ultimae imprint unearths a vast 75-minute collection of tempered low-end odysseys well worth the price of admission.
Serpentines & Valleys is available on Ultimae.
