Inkipak :: Slightly Salted (Pingdiscs)

Hat’s off, as whilst many artists find the ghosts within the machines, it is a rare few that can truly bring out the humanity in the machines.

All killer, no filler

So I discovered Inkipak around the time his first album Anomoly was released, but I was just slightly late to get the CD, so opted for the digital. It’s not very usual for me to buy digital only, as I love having my physical media, and being able to play records or CDs, and enjoy the artwork. This is meant to show how grabbed I was at the time by my first listens to Inkipak.

Since then I got the 2nd album the self titled Inkipak on the recently revived Mighty Force label, plus the split album release with Myoptik on the elusive Glawiio Music, one of the labels run by purveyor of fine electronic music, Martin Boulton. All exceptional releases in their own right. Oh and for the collectors out there, the first album Anomoly was also re-released on lovely orange vinyl. Also just to mention Mighty Force have been living up to their name lately delivering a lot of class releases so I’d highly recommend giving their Bandcamp page a bit of time.

For his third album Inkipak (aka Jon Mace) delivers us a a new slice of his heavenly electronic layer cake, returning to the Pingdiscs label for this release. Timing-wise, this dropped in the run up to what I call the “silly season” aka Christmas, I was saturated with masses of good music that had released throughout 2021, never mind December alone. I had planned to write this review in late 2021, but having some unavoidable family distractions has given me the
chance to live with this album for some time, soak up its warmth and really become friends with it. I have to say Slightly Salted just continues to grow on me, and I’ve not tired in any way of its beauty and poise.

I’ve not tired in any way of its beauty and poise ::

Production-wise this is a fantastic album, and if you have subwoofers be prepared to have the dust blown off them, by generous bass sounds. Also do not let the title of Slightly Salted fool you into thinking this may be lacking in flavor like a packet of English “Ready Salted” crisps, these are bad ass fully loaded, fully flavored crisps!

One of the first things to say is how this album, and especially the bass, just warps around you like warm blanket. It reminds me of the same emotions I felt on hearing Orbital In Sides for the first time (which is one of my favorite albums by them). As Orbital are not as active as they once were, I’m wondering if Inkipak live could fill the void a lot of us have, where no one delivers quite the same experience as you get at Orbital live events, whether at festivals or gigs. I want to be clear, I don’t think Inkipak sounds like Orbital, or is in some way trying to emulate them, but I think Inkipak has the same level of quality, reliability and distinction that they also deliver. Hence my references.

Each track on this album delivers its own slice of the layer cake, and each track is multi-layered cake in itself with a rich abundance of melodies, rhythms and sounds. There are some beautiful and most effective TB-303 lines which tickle acid loving brains. Track 3, “Dysphagia” is a highlight, and is at times led by the near mono-toned simple but so effective 303 line, which is nestled in between the vocal like synth sweeps and also simple but effective bassline.

Percussion-wise this album has more than only traditional 808/909 sounds going on, which adds to the lush warmth exuded throughout. Combinations of different percussive and drum kit sounds give this album great diversity. Tracks across the album float around genres, feeling connected to a past, rich in culture and history, whilst sounding modern and forward thinking, more about the journey of Inkipak as an artist.

As an example, track 5 “Sidestep” starts off being a lovely smooth electro track, with glorious acid lines, then around the half way drops in beautiful sounding synth lines that could be cornerstone of the chorus of an 80’s electro pop classic, before dropping us back into the more IDM electro sound scape this album delivers in plenty.

The album concludes with one of the sweetest and softest tracks on the album “Roadtrip,” which feels like that last kiss from a loved one before we must part and journey away. Inkipak never fails to deliver on the emotional quotient in his music. Hat’s off, as whilst many artists find the ghosts within the machines, it is a rare few that can truly bring out the humanity in the machines.

I’m not going to do a track by track guide to this album, but what I will say is that every track is fully formed, well thought through, and delivered with style. Had this been released as 9 singles, I would have bought every one. All killer, no filler, as I believe the saying goes.

I very highly recommend this album to anyone who likes quality electronica. This CD is still available over the Inkipak Bandcamp site. Don’t be like me who was late to the party on the first album, and had to make do with the digital release. Get in there!

Slightly Salted is available on Pingdiscs. [Bandcamp]