Leon Vynehall's Ninja Tune debut,
Nothing Is Still, demonstrated his vision as a composer and conceptual artist rather than just a dance producer and DJ, as he searched through his past and constructed a complex, orchestral suite dedicated to his family. Preceded by "I, Cavallo," a 2019 single which starts out swirling and nebulous before transforming into a minimal club pounder, 2021's
Rare, Forever includes some of the most abstract dance music he's produced yet. Far from the nostalgic deep house of earlier efforts like
Music for the Uninvited and Rojus (Designed to Dance), this album is much closer to the angular, percussive tracks by producers like
Joy Orbison and
Overmono, while also recalling
Floating Points' fusion of jazz and analog techno. The downtempo opener "Ecce! Ego!" melds hazy strings with citric synths, and "Alichea Vella Amor" is an ambient jazz daydream, with a repeated vocal fragment and airy saxophone swimming around inside your mind. While these more contemplative pieces are intriguing, the more beat-driven tracks deliver the album's most unexpected moments and daring audio design. "Mothra" bubbles and creeps along, very gently building up a beat, then just after it rises to a peak and gets lost in beatless splendor, a laser zaps and the word "something" appears caught in a glitch (not unlike Joy Overmono's club hit "Bromley") and the rhythm snaps back into place. "Snakeskin ∞ Has-Been" seems a bit disjointed and even a bit nauseous at first, but as the muscular bass swerves and the beats pound through, it seems to make more sense -- until the scattered piano coda throws you off even further. "Dumbo" is more of a funky IDM cut, with some of the most playful vocals
Vynehall has ever manipulated, twisting them to
Mouse on Mars levels of giddiness. Even at its most experimental,
Vynehall's music radiates with energy and spirit, and
Rare, Forever brims with a different type of excitement than his past work. ~ Paul Simpson