yagya: sleepygirls

Icelandic producer Yagya releases his fifth album, Sleepygirls. It's a deep, spacious and dubbed-out affair that stays locked at a pleasingly sedentary tempo throughout. Since 2002, the definitive member of the Thule Musik collective has been crafting lush electronic albums under his Yagya alias and always manages to find pure bliss and beauty and his simple, nature-inspired soundscapes. He deals exclusively in full-lengths and to date they have come on labels like Sending Orbs, Force Inc. and Subwax Bcn. "I wanted to create an album that's atmospheric, repetitive, and easy to listen to over and over again," says the man himself. "Something that works well in the background (e.g. when concentrating on work), as well as up close in a big sound system. I also wanted to learn how to make my music sound better than before, since I'm a huge sound-nerd, so that was a part of the goal for me personally." The album is a fine fusion of tropes from Yagya's earlier albums, features jazz instrumentalists that improvise beautiful melodies over monotonic, almost drone-like, techno beats, and also uses live recordings of Japanese vocals, saxophone and guitar to counter the repetitiveness of the rhythms. Right from the rolling bliss of the opener, you're suspended in a womb-like pillow of sound that is soft, warm and serenely beautiful. As tracks roll on, the pace stays the same but themes vary from upright and summery to more elongated and insular. This is natural, organic dub that is a delight and a pleasure to listen to.