Nights – Astrophonica 31

Sully returns to Astrophonica for a celestial collaboration with young Manchester based vocalist Salo. As if to flaunt his now well-honed experience behind the controls, ‘Nights’ is a skilful, curious straddling of sparse, maximal and cosmic, proving with finesse the fact that such a combination of moods can be evoked in a single 3-or-so-minute breath. Sully allows Salo’s placid vocals to dominate and take up space, proving that the best musical numbers are the ones that start with non-turd source material. The B’s dub is almost as equally boastful of its own talents, somehow only half-committing itself to techiness while still not indulging drum & bass’ worst excesses, and, through dramatic rimshot slams and sampled Salo cut-ups, keeping things atmospheric and dark-trippy.