- If you've bought Spacetravel's releases over the last year or so, his latest on Cabaret Recordings won't surprise you. We're starting to recognise his signature synth sounds and his knack for wiggling basslines, plus his ability to be impossibly tender or unhinged, often on the same track. As such, it's a testament to the strength of Spacetravel's voice that Axiom maintains the quality of his previous output. There's a distinct character that's difficult to define, even as it becomes familiar.
Trying to separate the textural and harmonic elements in "Spirit" is a lost cause. There's a call and response between a high, ascending pad and a blurry mass of low-mid frequencies—the first opens the clouds for you to ascend to the light, the latter pushes you up like a skyward travellator. It's the most beautiful moment in Spacetravel's discography. "Change Planet Stacion" goes to the other extreme, rating high on the zany scale in a catalogue littered with psychologically unstable funk. Its chromatic lead jeers like the taunts of a deranged clown. In the first quarter, an incongruous, needling drone pushes itself into view, the sort of element other producers would edit out. "Ankor Wat" sounds like something off Dancing Therapy, and the way Spacetravel strips the chords out after the break makes for one of the EP's most satisfying moments. Axiom might not be an essential purchase if you own some of Spacetravel's previous records, but it contains some of his finest work.
TracklistA1 Axiom
A2 Change Planet Stacion
B1 Spirit
B2 Ankor Wat