Skee Mask drops the latest instalment in his ISS series on Ilian Tape
Since 2017, Skee Mask aka Bryan Müller ‘ISS series’ for Ilian Tape has moved across a wide range of genres – spanning Techno, Breakbeat, Rave, Dubstep and Grime, all steeped in his trademark dub heavy, gritty-edged palette.
As he hits the 6th release in this series, he goes even further down the trail of sonic exploration and delivers 6 slices of the finest electro-acoustic ambience that is earpleasing, as it is powerfully charged and evocative. A trip into the outer reaches of Skee Mask’s creative mind – Müller encompasses brooding ambience, star shattering drones all meshed through galactic tones shot together with a healthy dose of experimentalism. Make no mistake, this is sound design of the highest order, managing to submerge everything with a space like dust that takes on a whole new level of eloquence in this strikingly brilliant collection of music.
Opening Side A with the sub-bass hum of ‘Cafe Mu’ – your aural field criss crosses back and forth to the flurrying notion of a violin as the heady twinkling of modular fx and slowly filtered sample snippets orbit their way round your consciousness. You can’t help but be drawn in. The inverse of a full throttle dancefloor assault, the subtle and breath like tones and melody of ‘Frogsplash’ glide along at a low slung tempo and show just what can happen when you move away from the intensity of club dynamics. The intense feel and aural envelope of ‘MDP5’sets you adrift even further with a close yet slow pulse.
Heading to the flipside, the almost rush inducing entrance of ‘Dolby’ catches you unaware. Thankfully it gives out to blissfull tinged melodics that sweep across with plenty of echo to illuminate the path beyond . ‘Mbass123 Excerpt’ shifts along another axis as its trilling synths recall the woozy interludes of the likes of Koreless or Rustie. Last but not least, ‘Henk (Version Whatever)’ takes you back to quieter climes and evokes the more serene ambience of Tim Hecker fused with the depth of Burial’s cityscape visions. Which leaves us to say, when untethered from pure hedonistic rhythmic joy – Müller finds a new level of creativity which we highly encourage you to experience, as his sense for shifting ambience runs very deep.
