Review of Sublunar [12k1072]

The Liminal (UK)

Sublunar is the first full-length release by Kane Ikin after a series of collaborations and remixes. These previous works haven’t given any indication as to how strong a work this debut record would be. It’s a dense and greasy affair, full of littered sounds and crackling old 78s (apparently found in Ikin’s fathers shed), that sound, at times, surprisingly light and delicate rather than purely dark and menacing. Layer upon layer of sounds, as disparate as analog synths, tape machines and antique drum machines, are slowly pieced together to form tight yet abstract music. As Ikin was making the record, anything within arm’s reach that could be hit, plucked or bowed was utilised and recorded which gives the record an almost playful nature that’s, more often than not, hidden from the listener, but does show its head in its lighter moments. It’s one of those records that bears repeated listening as the dense sound reveals hidden moments the more you listen. For that reason alone it’s become one of my most played records; it also helps that it’s also one of the most interesting and artistic records I’ve heard so far this year. (RH)

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