Translate

Album review

Stepping into the spotlight at the end of the 00s with his hypnotic house released on the label Border Community, Norwich producer Luke Abbott left a six-year gap in his discography after Wysing Forest in 2014. In a period of soul-searching, he took on a range of projects including composing music for films, producing under a dancefloor alias (Earlham Mystic) and launching the experimental jazz trio Szun Waves with saxophonist Jack Wyllie from Portico Quartet and drummer Laurence Pike from PVT. Not to mention his soundtrack/album for Piano Day in 2019, Music from the Edge of an Island. Here he is back under his own name with a very conceptual album: Translate. “I’ve always been interested in trying to capture spontaneity in music – there’s a moment of excitement when you first make something where it’s totally fresh and new, and that’s the moment I want to record.” James Holden, the founder of Border Community (or as Abbott says, “sound engineer and spiritual guide”) helped him do this. Holden transformed his London studio for the occasion. He placed eight speakers around the room, one for each part of the piece. Luke Abbott sat in the centre and recorded the album like a series of small live performances, giving the album a texture and intensity that differs from his earlier, more planned productions. You really feel the “body” of the music here. It’s palpable right from the start, with the ominous single Kagen Sound where the synths build like storm clouds. Describing the track as a “cosmic corridor”, the opener is a brilliant indication of what’s to follow. One of his most interesting albums to date. © Smaël Bouaici/Qobuz