State of Bengal - Skip-ij

Though completed just over a year ago, Skip-ij, the latest release from Sam Zaman aka State of Bengal, just hit online retailers.  Its his first release in about 4 years and something special which stands out amongst the many full lengths, singles and remixes he's crafted since he began professionally producing just over a decade ago.

Unlike a lot of electronic music today, there is a common aesthetic throughout the whole album which maintains integrity across its 12 tracks and is grounded in innovative percussion.  The album's title somewhat describes the percussive flow through its tracks - months in the making, Zaman focused on tooling a kit of snares that defied rhythmic expectation which ended up being best suited for spontaneity when he sat vocalists down in studio with the tracks.

Not necessarily reliant on 4/4 timing, this album defies modern dance-floor convention with its wonderfully refreshing and bouncy rhythms - paradoxically sounding like a jazz throwback to break-beat employing an aesthetic which draws from Afro-Brazilian and Indian influence [make sense? ;)].

Listening to the full 12 tracks in a row will make you dance, though if you want to chill its likely to grab too much of your attention - I recommend peppering your playlist randomly with sprinkles of Skip-ij instead.