Ectoplasma - Iboga

A full on album from stalwart minimal experi-mentalists Iboga might sound far fetched, but here it is and it’s rather good. Etnoscope’s Stealth Mode kicks off, a tasty little number with progressive meat in a full on gravy. Loads of panning, filters all over the place, and a quirky minor key melody to drive it all home. Multilayered metallic maestro Mino pops in with Fly, before Bus steps up with 4 Those About 2 Trance. Bus’ grooves have always been borderline abstract and almost awkw3ard, but this manages to hang together nicely with a heavy dose of FX over a shuffled, ass-wiggle backbone. BLT’s Froggy Business fits in well in advance of the Israeli sandwichmeister’s upcoming original stuff on Iboga, and with quality characteristic stuff from Reefer Decree and P.O.T.S. it all site together nicely. Standouts are Orion’s sublime Reactivated, which is full-to-bursting with energy with busy bassline, sweet runs, and there’s plenty of surprises without it going too totally over the top; and Electric Vendetta’s OD-1, which is one of the most unique flavours in ages, having mad grating melodies soaring over a tight and smooth rhythm section that all begs to be played on a huge-ass system. All in all a good new direction from Iboga which will keep mentalists, minimalists, and purists all as happy as sandboys.