Gi Gi: In Lieu LP

Since 2019, Texan producer Gi Gi has flitted between labels, delivering a string of limited cassettes, albums and DIY missives that blur the boundaries between ambient, new age, downtempo grooves, dub , trip-hop and what he calls "sampledelica". On In Lieu, his first missive for admired Vancouver institution Mood Hut, the American artist - in his words - "maps a geographic and internal shift". Recorded between Australia and his home studio in the Lone Star state, it takes the "dubwise" and sample-rich side of his sound and moves it closer to the dancefloor. So, that means - two give two stellar examples, blending punchy, mid-tempo breaks with warm bass, drifting melodies and wide-eyed ambient house textuers ('Pink Dirt'), and chugging, head-nodding beats with shoegaze guitars, horizontal vocals and stirring synth chords ('In Lieu').