LEON VYNEHALL Vinyl & CDs

Review: Leon Vynehall long again made the transition from decent tune maker to revered and unpredictable electronic artist. Now he proves why he holds that status one again with a follow up to his critically acclaimed debut long player Nothing Is Still. This time out he distils everything he has done so far in to a record with few comparisons. It is ready for dance floor deployment but never just functional. There are cavernous ambient pieces next to grainy, heavy, dubby rhythms with grand but lo-fi synth architecture as well as moments of intriguing experimentalism.

Review: Leon Vynehall confounded expectations with his first album for Ninja Tune, 2018's Nothing Is Still. For the most part, it eschewed the celebratory dancefloor feel of his previous sets, instead opting for a more diverse, atmospheric, layered and thoughtful set of rhythms, sounds and melodies. He's at it again on Rare, Forever, opening with an almost symphonic chunk of electronic trip-hop (the cinematic and spacey 'Ecce! Ego!'), before variously offering up Afro-techno/neo-classical/IDM fusion ('Mothra'), bouncy but unusual house cut-ups ('Snakeskin Has Been'), sparkling and hard-to-pigeonhole electronic bliss ('An Exhale') and much more besides.

Review: Leon Vynehall has made himself into one of electronic music's most intriguing artists. From club bangers to soul jams, working with choirs to intricately stitched together DJ mixes, he can seemingly do it all. Now he's back with a new single that is "directed squarely at soundsystems". "I Cavallo" offers up something dark and intense that explores a "dissonant and psychedelic corner" of Vynehall's sound alongside a "ClubFront" mix of the track on the flip. Whichever version you pick, it will draw you right in for the duration.

Review: Leon Vynhell has made some of the most interesting albums of the last few years. He's a prolific producer with a very different take on things, and a DJ who reaches just as far into the unknown. He proves that here with a super mix for the Fabric Present's series. His own 'Sugar Slip' opens with a hunched, stripped back but killer garage house rhythm then tunes from Or:la get percussive,
Skee Mask's 'Untitled 279' layer up the breakbeats and Piero Umiliani's 'Produzione' is a wild and wonderful Latin tinged rhythm that never lets up.