"mu tate continues to produce glittering synths, blissful pads and head-muffling sub-bass, all cut through with elegantly applied field recordings"
Following up the release of ‘they’re with you always‘ in 2023 on 3XL & Utter, Latvian producer mu tate joins Bratislava-based record label Warm Winters Ltd. to issue his third album ‘wanting less‘ descending listeners into vaporous soundscapes and luscious atmospheres.
mu tate continues to produce glittering synths, blissful pads and head-muffling sub-bass, all cut through with elegantly applied field recordings. His new album opens with ‘your host’, to the sound of gently breaking electronic waves upon a soft shore of distant pads. Toms and snares rattle intermittently away in the background and barely perceptible rides glide right past the edge of consciousness, fading away into silence.
‘nocturnal’ turns up the melody dial a touch, with a quietly singing bass and a very Ilian Tape combination of crackling, creaking synths and recordings materialising out of the foggy sonic ether. ‘sweat’ provides more of the same, this time the bass providing something to hold onto amongst the gentle blizzard of bubbly synths and bleeping walls of pads, with shimmering rides almost providing what could be described as a rhythm. Each of these tracks will please the ear of those attuned to the more ambient offerings of Skee Mask and Andrea.
On ‘one by one these desires are wiped away’, we are greeted by glitchy synths over melt-in-the-mouth pads, a chopped up vocal leading us along the path of the soundscape garden to the deep pool of quiet. As we drift serenely into the second half of the album, ‘spore’ delivers a technicolour cascade of synths directly into whatever part of the brain is responsible feeling weightless, an electro-y burst of bass every now and then bursting through the shimmering, falling synths.
On ‘some days feel like home’ we are once again – wait, is that a kick? Brains induced into a soporific state of unconsciousness are jerked awake by syncopated percussion, distantly howling sirens and whispering vocals, lending this track a slightly darker edge despite the ever-present pads and their cosy chord progressions.
On penultimate track ‘basement’ we encounter a melodic Geiger counter over distorted pads, before we close on ‘wanting less’. The closer introduces a little drone aesthetic to the mix, along with echoing synths arriving at our eardrums after aeons of solitary drifting in deep space.
For fans of experimental ambient, there’s a rich maze of soundscapes to get deliriously lost in, with each track meticulously crafted to guide listeners on a leisurely voyage to bliss. One for dimmed lights, a nice system, your comfiest seat, and some closed-eye sonic adventuring from the comfort of your own home.
‘wanting less’ is out on 27 September via Warm Winters Ltd. Order a copy from Bandcamp.
TRACKLIST
1. your host
2. nocturnal (ft. Malvern Brume)
3. sweat
4. one by one these desires are wiped away
5. spore
6. some days felt like home
7. basement
8. wanting less