brainwaltzera: poly-ana

ltd repress. gatefold sleeve, relief varnish; Brainwaltzera's debut album Poly-Ana follows quickly on the heels of the producer's Aescoba EP. Across thirteen tracks of both previously released material and fresh excursions into the artist's world, Brainwaltzera explores sounds ranging from luscious, downtempo grooves and expertly reduced brain-dance cuts with nods to early '90s experimental IDM to harder, more caustic outings, all bound together by a recurring theme of otherworldly ambience. Taking its name from a variety of sources dear to the artist, including polyphonic analog synthesizers and the Pollyanna principle itself -- a theory that suggests individuals recall pleasurable experience more acutely than displeasing ones -- the title represents a meeting point in the artistic process between creative method and conceptual choices. Production techniques range from more traditional hardware synthesis to the incorporation of a modified dot matrix printer acting as a modulation source for MIDI parameters. Sample sources include VHS material from the producer's own childhood and ambient Bullet Train samples from a production session traveling from Tokyo to Kyoto. According to the enigmatic producer, memory and its fundamental role in the human experience is one of the central themes of the record. While the artist's own experiences shaped the sound of the record, there is no attempt to impose them on the listener through blatant exposition. A particular stimulus, such as sound or scent, can transport an individual back to a particular point in their life. Scent has long been identified as the most efficient agent for this phenomenon, providing perhaps the most visceral form of "brain travel". With this in mind, a unique fragrance was engineered by creative director Mario Lombardo's Atelier Oblique brand, exclusively for the album's physical release. This was designed to act as a vehicle to assist the listener in retaining the first experience of hearing the record and to act as a future trigger, transporting the individual back to that moment. Brainwaltzera's work has quickly found plaudits amongst a host of industry tastemakers and artists alike -- not least Aphex Twin himself, who has appeared sporadically online with comments praising the music via his now infamous user18081971 SoundCloud account. Mature and wonderfully executed, Poly-Ana represents some of the finest recent work within the genre, and yet another noteworthy addition to the FILM discography.