An aptly-titled album featuring 18 magnetic pieces wrapped in a plethora of curious field recordings, downtempo sophistication, and a myriad of percussive, sample-infused aural slices of life. Perhaps one of the finest three-step audio programs we’ve heard all year.
Data Melt, described by the Norway-based Sparkwood imprint as a “three-step program—part human (1-6), part computer (7-12) and part TV (13-18),” is nothing short of hypnotizing. Its Boards Of Canada tinged nostalgia mixed with multi-layered beat patches and contagious ambient undertones by label-head Panama Fleets is an enthralling musical collection that will easily climb to our top releases of 2018.
Such a smattering of emotive and mind-bending downtempo streams (as evidenced on “Rugbybeef Institute,” and “Enterphase”) are reminiscent of the highly impacting Music Has The Right To Children album that the Scottish BOC duo produced 20-years ago. That is not to say that Data Melt seeks to unearth these timeless audible gems, but there’s an aura that surrounds this release and its sublime deconstruction that can’t be avoided. This feeling is especially inspired on tracks like “Do Satellites Dream Of Analog Snow?” where dust particles are sprinkled around soft synthesizer drones and fuzzy click-tones. The passage of time simply doesn’t mean anything in the grand scheme. Leaning towards the beauty emanating from the Hexagon Sun studio, “Hexagon Modules” is a brittle interlude featuring instrumental blips and bleeps taking the listener to a far away place.
That the sonic craftsman behind Panama Fleets hasn’t fine-tuned his skills is an understatement since his two previous extended players—Magick Window (2012) and Last Outpost (2016). “Polygeist,” a personal favorite, meanders through detuned waves, its eroded kaleidoscope bass cycling blissfully throughout. And that’s really at the heart of this album—there’s an engulfing mood set from start to finish. Each track reveals its own unique character. The closing “Night TV,” for example, displays sun-soaked shoegaze techno and a powerful sunbeam as its surreal vocal treatment stretches and contracts. Artists like port-royal and Syntaks usually reside in these quarters, but Panama Fleets offers similar colorful and effective moments.
An aptly-titled album featuring 18 magnetic pieces wrapped in a plethora of curious field recordings, downtempo sophistication (“The Variable Man”), and a myriad of percussive, sample-infused aural slices of life. Perhaps one of the finest three-step audio programs we’ve heard all year.
Data Melt is available on Sparkwood.
