Guy Andrews - Tåke (2017)

Guy Andrews is a British electronic music producer known for creating beautifully intense, sparse, and textural electronic music that spans a number of genres. Hailing from Brighton, U.K., Andrews grew up listening to a diverse array of music. Eventually working on his own tracks, he moved between a number of aliases to represent his music. Under the moniker iambic, he put out 2008’s Move, and followed with 2010’s Nocturnes EP and the full-length Under These Stars, We’ll Sleep Again. Over time, he also had a number of releases for labels such as Discobelle and HotFlush, but his first release under his own name was in 2011 for Hemlock Recordings. The album showcased a whole new sound for the young producer, and differed from his earlier recordings, which were largely focused on ethereal soundscapes. His new approach to electronic music garnered even more widespread attention, due to his penchant for dub-style beats, varied percussion, and exquisite synth work. He then got to work on a more expansive release. Ultimately deciding that he needed to start over again and completely reinvent his sound, his first step was to wipe the slate clean and begin with a brand-new bag of tricks, deleting all of his old synth patches and plug-ins. Collecting ideas and sounds over the course of the next two years, he eventually released his debut full-length, Our Spaces, in early 2016. The album caught the attention of esteemed London label Houndstooth, which Andrews described as the perfect fit for the record. Composed of aggressive, organic, and electronic percussion, fuzzy synth leads, and post-rock-driven guitar, the record was acclaimed for its textures, distinct and authentic compositions, and broad soundscapes. He went on to collaborate with Berlin-based musician Masayoshi Fujita on an improvised live performance titled Needle Six, recorded at the BBC’s Maida Vale studios. Put out as a dual release between Houndstooth and Erased Tapes, only 1,000 copies of the release were pressed. Andrews spent the rest of 2016 promoting Our Spaces with a number of live shows, and announced he had produced a remix EP titled Our Spaces: Reworks, which featured more directly dance-oriented reinterpretations of the Our Spaces tracks. The EP was released in July of that year. He returned in 2017 with his second full-length, Tåke. The album was written after Andrews made an inspiring trip to Norway.

Tracklist:

01 - The Clearing (feat. Alev Lenz)
02 - Trails
03 - Fjell
04 - It Cannot Surface
05 - Feelings (feat. Alev Lenz)
06 - There Was Nothing You Could Have Done
07 - Buried Within
08 - The Clearing (Reprise)