Jimmy Billingham steers his HOLOVR project back towards long-form synth and drum machine workouts with four new tracks of elegant, mid-paced ambient techno transcendence.
With each track recorded live using a plethora of analogue and digital outboard gear, there's an openness and intuitive ebbing and flowing to these works. Layers drift in and out and sparkling refrains emerge from the blissed-out soundscapes that Jimmy adeptly conjures.
A pulsing 4/4 kick underpins the whole journey, tethering the billowing synth pads - a hypnotic beat for twitching bodies keeping it corporeal. Gone are the acid sequences of former glories, allowing twinkling, intersecting synth patterns to come to the fore and dance resplendent.
There's nods to everything from 90s UK electronica, ambient techno and early trance to Berlin-school synth works and new-age space music, but HOLOVR's sonic alchemy taps into a cosmic stream where these modes seem to naturally coalesce.
After some tough personal challenges, compounded by the recent struggles we've all been dealing with, 'Ethereal Forces' is the sound of Jimmy confidently asserting a sincere and personal vision of transformational aural flows, embracing the majestic escapism and spiritual nourishment that melodic dance music offers.
Music by Jimmy Billingham
Artwork by Jennifer Crouch
Mastered by Stephen Bishop