This is an album that a lot of electronic music fans have been waiting a very long time for. “album1” is the debut album from international producer San Holo, which marks the start of a fresh new sound. Having built a loyal fanbase at the helms of his electrifying future bass releases including the popular track “Light”, San Holo has elected to broaden his sonic palette, and start to take his fans in a new sonic direction. In a self published video released a few weeks ago, he explains that back when he was originally rising through the ranks, off the back of the “New Bass” movement, he had a different level of excitement to what he had started to experience with releases just prior to this album. He went on to explain that this album brought back that excitement again, as he feels like he is at the forefront of a new movement again.
San spoke exclusively to Billboard about each track on album1, stating; “I wanted this album to introduce people to a new kind of sound. A warmer, organic, and less polished version of EDM.” San continues, “”show me” is a good example that represents this new sound. I recorded a lot of guitars on cassette tape, to give it that warm, warbly, lofi sound. You can clearly hear this in the guitar intro of the song. The beauty of recording actual instruments on tape is the fact that you can never record the same thing twice.”
The album is a cohesive unit that is best enjoyed when listening from start to finish. It will certainly take some getting used to for fans, but as a whole, the album tells a wonderful sonic story. The singles off the album are certainly not as impactful as previous single releases, however, in the build up to the album, they served as more of a taste of what to soon expect, rather than a singular song that was designed to sell an album.
This is a really interesting change from such an influential electronic artist, and one that is really welcomed. The day that artists stop experimenting with their music and releases, will be a very dark day. If you are looking for a cohesive album to sink your teeth into, that takes you on a journey from start to finish, then look no further!
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