Lapalux is one of a rare breed whose sound is unmistakeable. The Essex producer Stuart Howard’s lopsided beats and deep atmospheric textures lift him firmly above the horizon of R&B housesters. Two albums in and his singular vision – one in which has seen him reinterpret classic swing, soul and hip hop tropes – takes aim at an altogether bigger animal.
Ruinism – a term Howard coined to describe how blended sound palettes and inspirations interact on the album – refers to the re-sampling and re-pitching of synths and drum hits, twisting and blending them until they are ‘ruined’.
It feels like the radicalisation of his previous album, Lustmore, which partially deals with hypnagogia, the suspension of consciousness between awake and sleep states. Now, he’s focusing on the limbo between life and death.
The album’s sense of narrative is the first thing that strikes you. Tracks one, two and three – ‘Reverence’, ‘Data Demon’ and ‘Petty Passion’ – all feel of the same ominous world, and when lead single ‘Rotted Arp’ brings the early phase to a head, he is at his most abstractly fluid.
‘Phase Violet’ – which could easily have come from the nihilistic studios of Boards Of Canada – and ‘Tessellate’, a beautiful Actress-like soundscape of icy techno, shine through.
It’s just a pity these moments aren’t more recurrent.
Ruinism is out Friday June 30 through Brainfeeder/Inertia.
