Indigo - Celestial EP

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  • R&S offshoot Apollo continues to push the kind of emotive (whisper it) post-dubstep that seems to make some people angry. This is ironic, given that's precisely the opposite reaction this music should incite. But perhaps the reason Apollo succeeds where others have failed is the completely immersive qualities of the music it presents, as evidenced by previous releases from Synkro, Model 500 and Jack Dixon. Their latest proponent is Indigo, whose 12-inches for Exit and Hypercolour have flitted from the delicately tense to the gritty and downright furious. The Celestial EP finds him very much in the former state. Never one to shy away from lashing a washed-out pad or two together, "Sunrise" opens with exactly that: dawn breaking over a stripped-back landscape of undulating peaks and sharp edges. What could have disappeared into the structureless realms of ambient murmur is pinned in place with a walloping kick, something Indigo employs much more sparingly on "Keerthana," with more expansive—if less immediately satisfying—results. Here, streams of birdsong, ghostly vocals and pattering rain converge to form an ever-swelling torrent before giving way to the most delicate of leads for a truly stunning climax. "Azha" follows where "Keerthana" left off, but delves into some of his darker sounds, with skittering, subtly varied percussion evincing more character from the 4/4 structure than perhaps it deserves. "Sea of Stars" might not fit with the EP's overall aesthetic—its heavily syncopated rhythm is a little jarring after what comes before—but it's undeniably engaging, completing another triumphant release for both label and producer.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Sea Of Stars A2 Azha B1 Sunrise B2 Keerthana
RA