Over the past five years, the fruits of Dark Sky’s labour have broadly spanned the electronic music spectrum, from the percussion-laden ‘Tremor‘ to their collaboration with Breach on hi-hat heavy anthems ‘The Click‘ and ‘The Fallout‘. Now, the London trio (Carlo Anderson, Matt Benyayer, Thomas Edwards) finally release their debut album Imagin on Modeselektor’s Monkeytown Records.
In true Dark Sky tradition, Imagin is full of sonic contrasts. A journey that is rich in reverb and gradual build ups (note the twenty-second silence which opens the album) creates an atmosphere that is sustained throughout all ten tracks. Pleasant surprises are found in ‘Voyages’ and ‘Lucid’, where the former builds up in dense percussive layers which cross between electronic and acoustic, and the latter acts as more of an ambient interlude of found sounds and heavily saturated effects.
Vocalists feature separately on several tracks, adding a new dimension to Dark Sky’s music. Imagin‘s aural journey takes on an epic feel in ‘Silent Fall’, with male vocalist Grey Reverend’s swooping key shifts still steering clear of any clichés. Throughout the track, tense Moderat-esque build-ups liken Dark Sky’s new style to the Monkeytown sound. Portico Quartet’s Cornelia features on numerous tracks, whose vocal flavour is akin to Little Dragon’s Yukimi Nagano and Submotion Orchestra’s Ruby Wood. This new move might be a surprise to some of the bass purists among Dark Sky’s fanbase, but the vocal collaborations are a clear sign of a group aiming for broader electronic appeal and credibility. This is especially noticeable on less dance-orientated tracks like ‘Vivid’ and ‘Nothing Changes’, creating moments that could be described as a less moody modern-day version of Massive Attack.
Both ‘Odyssey’ and ‘Manuka’ stand out in their glittery brilliance. ‘Odyssey’ provides an authentic taste of Dark Sky’s well loved four-four dance music and, just when it couldn’t get much better, ‘Manuka’s magnificently lopsided pitch-bent melody sneaks up on the listener as the album’s explosive penultimate track. These hard-hitting gems prove to be smarter than just hyped tracks targeted for the dancefloor. ‘Purple Clouds’ reintroduces Dark Sky’s new element of vocals to create a style which, despite being foreign to the trio’s former repertoire, is totally suitable as the album’s finale. The song’s abrupt ending leaves the listener hungry for more, and adds to the album’s addictive quality. The refreshing new sound of Imagin, flawless in its production, is hopefully a taste of more incredible things to come from Dark Sky.
Imagin is out now via Monkeytown Records and available from their website. Catch Dark Sky on their upcoming Imagin Live Tour this autumn, which includes a Boiler Room (17th Sep), and DJ set at Bristol’s Simple Things Festival (25th October).
