Deep Space mutant electro on 'Membrana' from Ka§par

Expansive sonic textures abound on the Portuguese artist’s impressive new long-player

Percebes Musica kick off their 2021 release schedule with an expansive effort from label boss, Ka§par.

With flurries of promo material arriving thick and fast, there's a sense that the underground dance community are bursting at the seams in anticipation of pandemic restrictions finally (hopefully) being eased in the coming weeks and months. Among the countless hours of new material we've been sifting through, Ka§par's 'Gestures of Release' was one that refused to be ignored. Ambitious in scope and executed immaculately – albeit with a thick layer of sonic dirt – the music stands out exceptionally well from a crowded field. Covering 10 tracks that vary in tone from the low fidelity grit of opener 'Miles Away' to the strangely soothing mid-tempo groove of 'Suave', the vocal explorations and synth-led sleaze of 'Rectify' to the outer space dub ambience of 'Maritime Myriad', and the slowmo junglist textures of 'Time Apart'.

Our favourites include the Chi-town distortion of 'Clone Forge', the driving Latin-ish rhythm of peak-time belter 'Feeling Something', and the deep acid chug of the oh so appropriately titled 'Head Down'. Since we've been trapped indoors for the last few months (following yet another tiresome lockdown), the first cut to grab us was the introspective futurism of 'Membrana', so we've decided to play you that one here. Grainy pads rise relentlessness over hard electro drums as mutant synth layers intertwine across the deep space panorama. Emotive chords appear and vanish, before a deliciously deviant top-line soars in through the overpowering haze. Blurring electronic genre lines while gently endowing the sound with layers of machine soul, this is genuinely impressive and uniquely individual work from Ka§par.

'Gestures of Release' is out May 15 via Percebes Musica, you can listen and buy it here