Bondy, Ben: Sibling LP

Ben Bondy blesses Special Guest DJ’s Experiences Ltd with a near-fathomless solo debut of sensual, low key electronics and intimate nocturnes following a pair of peaches from Ulla and Folder. This one’s all fizzing warm, heady and loved up, highly recommended listening if you’re into anything from Newworldaquarium/154 to Harold Budd. Like his recent split with Exael for Huerco S.’ West Mineral, ’Sibling’ sees Bondy return to a seductively gauzy mid-ground sound that over the course of 15 tracks lulls and lists with a minimalist patience, allowing forms to emerge and evaporate in constantly shifty transitions and weathered plays of light according to an immersive eco-logic. Those liminal traces of sound and influence are almost imperceptible, pulling you into a protective amniotic sound-world that's evocative and comforting. The album actually started out as a single LP but the mood spilled over into something twice as long and deep with it, creating what he describes as “kinda two parts to one being. kinda like the way the bonds of friendship/siblinghood work”. This fraternal pathos percolates throughout the album, knitting together gently windswept permutations of thizzing pads and frayed rhythms under a smudged and slowly turning kaleidoscopic lens. It’s pretty much the definition of hypnagogic, likely to draw your eyelids to half-mast and your mind to blissed-out dream states.