Sublunar Tides - Plant43 (Plant43 Recordings)

 

Title: Sublunar Tides

Artist: Plan43

Label: Plant43 Recordings

Cat Number: PLANT43 006LP

Genre: Electro

A1: Sublunar Tides

A2: Links Forever Forged

B2: Arc Furnace

C1: Neon Sentinel

C2: Transient Cities

C3: Perfect Ruin

D1: Still Sparks

D2: Tides Align

Perhaps the most cinematic of current electro producers. Emile Facey aka Plant43 has hit upon a winning formula which not only renders his productions instantly recognisable; but simultaneously endows them with a depth and gravitas that ensures they are not just cult collectibles, but also genre defining. ‘Sublunar Tides’ is his sixth album proper in a career spanning just over 15 years, and one which may well prove to be the icing on the proverbial machine funk cake. The strain of electro he purveys is funky, emotive,  and catchy. And while  the majority of the tracks go down that road,  ‘Perfect Ruin’ and ‘Tides Align’, are a pair of comparatively slo-mo pieces that more than any other on this album, possibly reflect the melancholic state of mind Facey could have been in while waiting to return to the live circuit during lockdown.  However, it is the syncopated, body popping interzone that dominates. Tracks like ‘Links Forever Forged’ and ‘Transient Cities’ are eloquent soundscapes whose undulating subtleties convey more than the sum of their parts and feel endless in doing so. ‘Sublunar Tides’ and ‘Arc Furnace’ take similar motifs, but wrap them in more urgent electronic vestments and the magnificent ‘Still Sparks’ sounds like it has had its innards scooped out and reassembled, subtly changing the pervasive vibe to give the impression that everything is not quite as normal as first thought.