Amsterdam’s Mammo deploys a handful of aliases (A∞x, 2501, 2401, 2301, and CoA-A) to explore familiar shades of dub, deep house, and frequently otherworldly techno. In 2025, we were treated to three full-lengths (2501’s ‘Ulmeyda’, Mammo’s ‘General Patterns’, and Fabiano’s ‘Landmarks’) that offered a fitting expedition into the producer’s world. Each leaned into immersive sounds that utilize heady club textures on the former; crisp, languidly angular techno on ‘General Patterns’; and proper atmospheric, nocturnal ambient on the latter release.
Showing off this range on a handful of singles and EPs is one thing, but to unleash over an hour’s worth of different facets of your production skills, and have each consist of front to back killer tracks, is another. With ‘Lateral’, Mammo presents the kind of record you hope for when promising early releases leave you wanting to hear what an artist does with more space to sprawl and ruminate on ideas confined to the constraints of an EP.
This summary of his musical output to date perfectly pairs with Sheffield’s Short Span, Matthew Kent’s stellar imprint showcasing liquid strains of techno, ambient, and delicately fringe electronics. Across nearly 100 compelling minutes, Mammo pivots from beat-forward house to layered, chill out IDM that envelops you in a sonic fog you find yourself happily unable to pull yourself out of.
The off-kilter time shifts of “4.1” take a low-key track and turn it on its head. The listener rides along on a pleasant set of keys and drum machine, and when the beat drops out momentarily it returns with a heftier punch that suddenly propels the song from black and white into a kaleidoscope of auditory colours that spills over to the icy dub techno of “Vikare”. The mesmeric atmosphere embedded there showcases Mammo’s ability to craft lush realms of sound you could easily find yourself transfixed with for hours on end, and then feel the same thing when the next track starts.
“They Built a Floor of Glass” drifts ‘Lateral’ down an abyss of murky ambient, later stretching beyond the horizon. Across ten minutes, it leaves a shadowy, contrail-like impression in your mind that oozes into the following track, “Congregation”. The rhythm returns yet remains buried in a foggy ectoplasm that keeps you stuck in place, feeling every pulse and synth pad congeal and engulf your ears.
‘Lateral’ is bookended by the soothing IDM/braindance of “Intuitive – Portable – Easy to Use” and “Thermal”. On the former, a playful keyboard pattern gently builds up to an inquisitive ambient coda; the latter features twitching synths colliding with percussion claps that lead to bubbling keys offering a slightly jittery yet calming conclusion to the album. These pieces act as an excellent prelude and epilogue to the loose, free spirited techno compositions spread out across the album.
While each track could be the launching point to an individual album composed of that particular subgenre, from heavy ambient to deep house, hearing them one by one on ‘Lateral’ offers a capstone to Mammo’s production sensibility. It’s not unusual for producers to veer between styles and not be constrained to one particular sound; however, the breadth and depth of Mammo’s output is exceptional and on full display throughout the eminently inviting and repeatable ‘Lateral’.
Lateral is out now via Short Span. Listen to and buy vinyl from Inverted Audio Record Store.
TRACKLIST
A1. Intuitive – Portable – Easy To Use
A2. Xyo
B1. 4.1
B2. Vikare
C1. Hovye Run
C2. Knuckles
D1. Semni
D2. Tages
E1. Very Near
E2. They Built A Floor Of Glass
F1. Congregation
F2. Thermal
