Benoit B: Kismet LP

The baker’s dozen trax of ‘Kismet’ catch Benoit B’s circles sweetly bleeding into a definitive long-play showcase of his sound, but eazing off his club-wize styles for a collection best suited to headphones and sofas. Like his preceding run of 12”s for Banlieue, Versatile, Berceuses Heroique and Unthank, the album also draws on references points from a golden age of machine-made music during the mid ‘80s to the early ‘90s, yet slanted towards the early or very late hours, with a dreamy uchornic arc that sees the timeline loop in on itself between new age, chill-out room ambient, and offbeat boogie with a knowingly loose, impressionistic take on the timeline. They’re all trimmed to a T, holding to succinct track lengths as he oscillates sweetly tactile ambient sound designs with passages of natty drum machine experimentation and the tightest bops. ‘Punkster’, with its crimped ‘80s electro flow and shine-eyed twinkle is an ideal example of his future boogie tekkerz, and the crystalline FM synthesis of ‘Panda Tears’ shows off his crisp synth touch, sharing a thing for Japanese electronics with his ace ‘Japonaiserie’ 12” and Visible Cloaks’ environmental ambient takes, where the lush eastern promise of ‘Karma Du 92’ follows, while the spongiform chill-out room float of ‘Mystik Spiral’ dips into proper Mixmaster Morris vibes, and ‘Reste Là’ effortlessly dials up and plays with the classic examples of Mappa Mundi.