Bleep

Influences from several electronic musical styles can be heard in Translate, the latest solo LP from Luke Abbott. The kosmische innovations of the 1970s are apparent in the record’s harmonious synth work - ‘Roses’, with its burbling modular runs, is a fine example of how Translate’s builds on the lineage of German electronics. The experimental energy of 90s IDM lurks in the background here, as do the hypnagogic vistas of labels such as Ghost Box, and Abbott’s clear desire to create work that is both compositionally innovative and emotionally immediate places him alongside fellow Border Community artists like Leafcutter John and label boss James Holden.

One of the things which makes Translate such a dynamic record is the manner in which the melodious passages are contrasted with more abrasive or freighted timbres. Distorted tones enliven several of tracks, with cuts such as ‘Earthship’ almost overwhelmed by their sky-scraping, slightly post-rock-indebted synthscapes. Rhythms generated by both electronic and organic drums drive the record onwards, though this also makes the numbers where Abbott chooses to keep the beats to a minimum - the ominous rise and fall of ‘River Flow’, for instance - even more notable.

With Translate, his first solo artist LP for six years, synth maestro and Szun Waves member Luke Abbott delivers a collection of bold and bracing electronic vignettes.