Irish producer Seamus Malliagh makes extremely giddy, hyperkinetic electronic music as
Iglooghost, throwing juke/footwork, anime, IDM, hip-hop, and pop into a blender and hitting infinity. The restlessly creative artist's tracks are extremely dense, fast-moving, and cartoonish, loaded with complex beats, high-pitched voices, and rapid-fire samples. While this sounds like it could easily end up being a nauseating sugar rush, his tracks have an advanced pop sensibility and focus that keep them both exciting and memorable, and they never come close to sounding predictable or conventional.
Iglooghost first surfaced as a producer for underground rappers like
Milo and
Kool A.D. around 2013. In 2014, he released two limited cassettes, Treetunnels and Twenteen, which showcased his vivid, colorful take on abstract hip-hop beatmaking. Following 2015's Milk Empire, a collaboration with California rapper Mr. Yote,
Iglooghost (who was only 18 at the time) signed to
Flying Lotus'
Brainfeeder label. His first release for the label was the digital EP Chinese Nü Yr, based on a video game-like story about a gelatinous, amorphous worm named Xiāngjiāo. Even though the release appeared on
Brainfeeder, a label often associated with left-field hip-hop and jazz, its sound was a lot closer to the pop-influenced abstract electronic music released by labels like PC Music, Orange Milk, and Noumenal Loom.
Iglooghost's second
Brainfeeder release (and vinyl debut) was the 2016 EP Little Grids, which partially continued the story of Xiāngjiāo while introducing new characters, and included a guest appearance by singer
Charlotte Day Wilson as well as a remix by
Slugabed. Later in the year,
Iglooghost remixed
Abra's single "Crybaby."
Neō Wax Bloom,
Iglooghost's debut full-length, arrived in 2017, further expanding the concepts established on the previous two EPs. In August of 2018,
Iglooghost simultaneously self-released two EPs, Clear Tamei and Steel Mogu. ~ Paul Simpson