- Epic trance excursions.
- When legendary cult IDM label Likemind unexpectedly relaunched in 2017, they chose HOLOVR for their first release. That should tell you a lot about Jimmy Billingham, whose extremely underrated music blends mid-'90s trance with the Detroit-worshipping chill-out techno of artists like B12 and Kirk Degiorgio. His work easily holds its own with his inspirations, and he's generally a busy bee, pumping out releases on his own Indole Records imprint. His latest, Ethereal Forces, feels particularly weighty. Halfway between an album and EP, it comprises four tracks that all breach the ten-minute mark in an unhurried way. You could dance to them, but it feels like they're made for getting lost in, each one like a fractal pattern that spins outward and outward until you're hypnotized.
All four tracks were recorded live, and they feature an array of sequencers, drum machines and pads that hint at everything from late '90s era Sasha (when Junkie XL and Charlie May were helping him out in the studio) to the spaciest, most billowing of Tangerine Dream records. "Trancension" might be my favourite, if not just for its wonderfully goofy title, but its gentle and gradual pace makes it easy to sink into and appreciate each lush sound on its own, especially those hi-hats bathed in hissy reverb. Think a cross between Pantha Du Prince and Petar Dundov, and you're almost there.
Elsewhere, you've got the Artificial Intelligence compilation-baiting "I-Continuum," with trippy panning that makes it feel three-dimensional, pinned to a proggy drum pattern that adds a little pep to its step. On the other hand, "Reality Eclipse," featuring a much more itchy-footed drum producer and sinuous, malleable leads, as if Billingham were shaping these arpeggios out of red-hot iron with his hands (wearing gloves, of course). I could go on, but the bottom line is: if you like mid-'90s ambient and trance—from old-school Sven Väth to the unbeatable Pete Namlook—you'd do well to check out Ethereal Forces. Like his record for Likemind would suggest, Billingham is not only referencing the past but making vital new records out of it, recognizing what made the original stuff so memorable and taking it into the future, one 11-minute workout at a time.
Tracklist01. Trancension
02. Reality Eclipse
03. Fluid Horizon
04. I-Continuum