FM | ALBUM REVIEWS
D.K. Eighteen Movements
Abstrakce Records
Valencia-based experimental label Abstrakce has been building a reputation for the finest leftfield and avantgarde music since its 2015 formation. Once again dangerously on-point, the imprint releases a magnificent collection of live recordings from Parisian producer and performer, Dang-Khoa Chau, aka D.K. The recordings, captured at various live shows between 2017 and 2019, take us on a meditative journey through ambient soundscapes that sound at once unfamiliar, yet warm and inviting. Jangling melodies, tribal rhythms, unusual woodwinds, beautiful gongs and warm melodies transport you to highly spiritual locations across the globe in a wave of transcendental, naturally flowing music that feels rich in mysticism and spirituality. The record feels exotic and sultry throughout, with tribal rhythms penetrating field recordings of jungles and nature. The hypnotic nature of the entire record casts a spell over you, pulling you deeper and deeper into its rich and immersive soundscapes. Expansive textures of stretched-out pads and warm synth excursions unfurl below as indigenous sounds, strange animal calls, flowing water and tangled web of intricate rhythms grow up through the forest floor and create the perfect resting place for you to take this all in and let it wash over you. Each of the six beautifully constructed tracks feels remote and isolated, like somewhere totally unexplored that explodes the senses when stumbled upon. D.K.’s most ambitious and most fully realised music to date, Eighteen Movements is a masterclass in expansive and meditative ambience and experimentalism.