(02.20.08) Preston is a mysterious producer from Leicester in the UK who releases his debut album for the new home to all things melodic and electronic, Boltfish Recordings. Following in the footsteps of great labels such as Expanding Records and now sadly defunct counterparts Toytronic and Neo Ouija, Boltfish continues the tradition of releasing consistently mellow electronic music for the chilled generation. And chilled it is, full of lush melodies and slinky beats.
Preston’s music could be described as “melodic” or “ambient techno” but that seems to do it an injustice when it ventures beyond the confines of such definitions into deeper, more complex listening music territory designed to be absorbed and enjoyed. Indeed, the entire 70 minute duration of Aespatia is full of cascades of sparkling melodies, floods of ambient texture, occasional ethereal voices and razor sharp beat excursions. Together, the combination is a smooth luxurious mix of stabbing rhythms and chime-like melodies resulting in a relaxing mix of serene electronic beauty. So confident is Preston in what he does, Aespatia also contains remixes of tracks which do not even appear in their original form on the album. In fact, Aespatia works very nicely as a whole, almost like a continuous mix flowing in and out of ambient and rhythmic segments over the period of 70 minutes. At one end of the scale are the minimalism and glitchy flowing melodies of “Swerky” while at the other is the bassy dub of “Deppendo” and drum ‘n’ bass meets electronica fusion of “Gilbotn (Test Pressing Remix).” The Mise en Scene remix of “Chordafloral” even manages to maintain its luscious ambient qualities whilst treading tentatively towards tinny glitch and C64 electro programming. At times, such as the last two minutes of “Syllogistical” and “Ectives,” Preston’s work even bears the hallmarks of an updated, redefined and considerably more relaxed Kraftwerk. Full of shimmering beauty right from the outset with cascading chimes, flowing ambient tones and layers of almost orchestral texture, Aespatia is the realisation of a serene flight into beat-infused melodic electronics. Harking back to the early days of Neo Ouija and Warp’s classic ambient series, Preston takes the perfectly crafted melodic ambience they pioneered and updates it, rewriting it in his mind and transcribing it into the album we have here. It has beauty, carefully measured degrees of varied rhythms and an abundance of luxurious textures that please the senses whilst gently holding the attention.
For those that miss the days when gentle melodic electronics were the order of the day, Boltfish is one of the labels adept at bringing the genre back in their own inimitable style. Very good they are at it too, introducing a long list of newcomers along with some more recognisable names from the mellower side of experimental electronic music. Preston fits nicely with both the genre and the ethics of the label as a whole. Another in a long list of quality releases from Boltfish.
Aespatia is out now on Boltfish. [Purchase]
