Bleep

2017's most quietly influential album landed in the form of Photay's Onism, having been turned onto his self-styled brand of boogie 'n' beats via Martyn LuckyMe back in 2014, we have been thirsting for something longer from the NY producer for some time. Ripe with a disco-leaning hip-hop hustle that has instantly seen it slide right into the middle of our daily office-wide listening habits. Make no mistake, if you are high into the LuckyMe and Brainfeeder joints, then this is one of the years finest no doubt...

Kuhn, Paul Jones and Obey City’s label venture Astro Nautico front the latest in their line of releases from Brooklyn producer Photay. Onism - the word, incidentally, is linguist John Koenig’s term for the frustration that comes from being stuck in one body, in one place, at one time - is a deftly composed album that draws as much from the natural world as it does from other musics. Track titles like ‘Eco Friend’ and ‘Off-Piste’ should bely the ecocriticism at the heart of Onism. When one gets to the music, one finds plenty of dense rhythmic interplay atop the sort of friendly clubisms that feature heavily in Giles Peterson’s mixes. Opener ‘Screens’ and Madison McFerrin collaboration ‘Outre Lux’ are particularly soulful jams.