Aaron Jerome’s SBTRKT project has won no shortage of hearts and minds over the last eighteen months or so.
His self-titled debut skipped from UK garage to dubstep, but never lost its melodic punch and aura of accessibility. His live show (as demonstrated at Coachella) has got plenty to recommend it too. Pitchfork note that Jerome has uploaded a new track onto his Soundcloud in the last 24 hours, appended with the strap line “something new – no plan for it – just thought id share”.
‘Gamelena’ shows SBTRKT looking East for inspiration. The track is shot through with the tinkle of Indonesian metallophones, and marries dutty low end with bright Javanese textures.There’s little of the sort of deference Four Tet shows to his globally sourced sonic materials; SBTRKT mangles those bright drum tones until they sound like something that Daphne Oram might have cooked up. Even if you’re not a seasoned connoisseur of slendro and the pelog, you’ll no doubt find plenty to enjoy.