Shackleton: Euphoria Bound

"No matter who Sam Shackleton plays with, you recognize his handiwork immediately: Since he began weaving together North African percussion and dubstep-inspired basslines more than two decades ago, he's developed one of the most distinctive styles in electronic music. He long ago shed virtually all traces of conventional UK bass music, effectively evolving into a genre of one. Dubstep was always a misnomer for his music, which never stepped, but flowed."

"In the past decade, the British-born, Berlin-based artist has worked with the experimental Portuguese post-fado singer Marlene Ribeiro; Japanese extreme bass provocateur Scotch Rolex and Ugandan drummer Omutaba; Holy Tongue, the trio of Valentina Magaletti, Al Wootton, and Susumu Mukai; new weird America torchbearer Six Organs of Admittance; Polish clarinetist Wacław Zimpel and Hindustani classical singer Siddhartha Belmannu; dystopian Berlin dreamweaver Anika; and even maverick Italian opera singer and actor Ernesto Tomasini,"

Sam Shackleton blends North African percussion with dubstep-inspired basslines to create one of electronic music's most distinctive, flowing styles. He shed conventional UK bass elements and evolved into a genre of his own. His collaborations span diverse artists, including Marlene Ribeiro, Scotch Rolex, Omutaba, Holy Tongue, Six Organs of Admittance, Wacław Zimpel, Siddhartha Belmannu, Anika, and Ernesto Tomasini. Euphoria Bound retains Shackleton's mystical, opalescent sheen but presents a more muscular, intense sound than recent solo albums. The record increases kinetic movement with rattling hand drums, groaning sub-bass, dubbed-out synthesizer tendrils, and ghostly chants, accelerating his vortiginous energy.

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