Available on: Woetone EP

Ssaliva has been around for a while now, previously releasing on the consistently brilliant Leaving Records and Vlek, so the move to Woetone, a new imprint from Svetlana Industries, is a decent chance to reach a new audience with similar tastes. The foggy synth boogie he contributes to the label’s debut release has already garnered coverage in Dazed, and it’s no surprise; the sound is ideal for their love of band-like electronic music hovering somewhere between introspective darkness and the soundtrack for a boat party somewhere enviable.

‘Arcadia’ sums this up neatly, its funk beat and guitar chops paired with a deep, poignant harmony reminiscent of Holy Other and, to conjure up a journalistic cliché, Blade Runner sci-fi. A lead synth similar to Oneohtrix Point Never, albeit played in the style of Ford & Lopatin, adds to this anxious, romantic night time gloom.

‘Die Gem’ features similar qualities to Legowelt’s eerie, largely-drumless Psychic Stewardess project (maybe it’s a Dutch/Belgian thing – Ssaliva’s from Liege), although in place of the modal riffs there’s a much brighter East Coast US sound. Similarly, the wobbly, celestial ‘Fantasy 33’ could have been mistaken for a Panda Bear instrumental, had Ssaliva not developed it into delicate kosmische.

Abstracting this dreamy aesthetic on the flip is another Vlek and Leaving Records contributor, the by-now-legendary lonely island that is WANDA GROUP. It’s an inspired choice: Louis Johnstone’s ability to exude warmth, while simultaneously dragging it deep into Blue Jam-like territory, is unparalleled in current music.

‘Commencement On Slavery With A Gender Perspective’ sticks to WANDA GROUP’s floating, episodic style, slowly swinging back and forth between anxiety and content wonder. Despite quick transitions, everything moves in slow motion, made up of loose, recurring themes. These take in everything from frantic Berberian Sound Studio foley and stereo Carpenter drones to  shell-shocked piano-and-static delicacy; Bellows-esque square basses bumping and rolling along a seabed, to waking-from-a-coma Anime scene ambience. At 13 minutes in length – vinyl purchasers receiving 18, by way of an extended, ghostly 5 minute intro – it’s spectacularly beautiful and defies easy critique.

Within this leftfield scene of producers, Birth Body’s pairing of the more accessible with the more explorative is an exciting prospect. Hopefully Woetone continues down this route: with so much talent bubbling and churning away, there are endless combinations that could come together through it.