After a few years staying busy with Flowering Inferno and The Western Transient as well as various collaborative projects, Quantic lets off his first proper solo album since 2014’s Magnetica. “This record feels like it grew naturally as I grew to know New York” says William Holland. “I had started the record with electronic sketches in Ableton but soon found that with my new studio setup I was able to record everything with live musicians.” It’s vintage Quantic through and through, but shot through with a cosmopolitan edge that feels respectful of NYC’s rich disco and house tradition. Intro cut “Divergence” ushers in this new era of Holland’s work with huge orchestral swells cascading over jazzy beats and surgically-deployed violins, and the rest of the program is fitted with dancefloor cuts of various shapes and sizes: disco instrumentals (“Motivic Retrograde,” “September Blues,” “Atlantic Oscillations”), vintage soul (“You Used To Love Me,” “Now Or Never”) luscious samba (“Orquidea”), classic UK broken beat (“Tierra Mama”) and heady downtempo (“La Reflexion,” “Is It Your Intention”). In addition to old friends Sly5thAve and Alice Russell, the record features Colombian folklore singer Nidia Góngora (seek out their full-length collab from a few years back if you haven’t already) on “Tierra Mama” and Denitia on “You Used To Love Me.” Eleven tracks in total spread across four sides of vinyl with foldout insert, released by Tru Thoughts.

• black double vinyl pressing
• includes printed foldout insert
• music label: Tru Thoughts 2019

reviewed by Diper911 07/2019