The wait is finally over on an album I’ve been keenly anticipating ever since the first glimpses of the young producer’s music surfaced a couple of months ago – Kimyan Law’s debut LP for Blu Mar Ten Music is upon us. It’s pretty tough to take in the depth and breadth of the album at first listen; the tracks vary in energy and tone, but there is a calm, soothing quality to the music and an intricacy to the sonic textures on show here which places the guy ahead of many producers with plenty more years in the game.
The use of natural (or at least, natural sounding) instrumentation nearly exclusively in preference to synthetic sounds gives the music more shared ground with the likes of Four Tet’s early material than with much of contemporary D&B, and that’s probably also what makes it sound so fresh – the influence of D&B has been melted down here and distilled with a pinch of soul, a hint of ambient, a splash of world music and little dashes of a dozen other styles, and used to paint a vivid aural picture, and one with a softness that the loud mastering and hard snares of modern electronica seldom achieve.
The use of space and reverb is masterful, allowing the compositions to breathe without sounding quite as ghostly as some of Burial’s work. The instrumentation is crisp and clear, but the elements aren’t fighting one another in the mix; each chord or drum beat has been carefully positioned to complement the other parts of the track, and it shines through wonderfully. I have no doubt that this LP will be on heavy rotation over the coming months, and no doubt that it’s impact and enjoyability will grow and grow on repeat listens. Check out the clips below and pre-order your copy from the Blu Mar Ten store now.