Boomkat (UK)

New 12k band, Between consists of label head Taylor Deupree, former Slowdive man Simon Scott, Marcus Fischer and Illuha. On this self-titled live recording from Kyoto in October investigates the outer limits of ambient and meditative minimalism. Even by his exquisitely patient and pensive standards, this is a real slow-burner, a hallucinatory ascent/descent into narcotic-hazed alpine and rainforest atmospheres that variously recall Eno’s Neroli, parts of David Sylvian’s work with Jon Hassell, Stars Of The Lid, Christopher Willits, William Basinski and Taylor Deupree, on whose 12k imprint this album appears. The mellow sustained drones, crackle and field recordings are of course all hallmarks of the genre, but Scott manages to make them sound fresh, mingling them with serene, quasi-liturgical male and female vocal textures, as well as subtle guitar, keyboards and percussion. Even if you’re not reclining in a hammock outside your remote lodge in the Nilgiri mountains, herbal tea in one hand and opium pipe in the other, this’ll make you feel like you are. A very welcome bit of escapism.