Immunity

Alongside its staggeringly fruitful musical output, 2013 may end up being remembered as the year in which the notion of the album format as a vital, centrally-significant medium resurfaced. The idea that an album should require endurance and complete attentiveness on the part of the listener already lies at the heart of two of this year’s most critically lauded releases; namely, The Knife’s Shaking the Habitual and Savages’ Silence Yourself. In fact, such a concept was more or less spelled-out in each act’s accompanying manifesto. This idea of (re)learning to experience music in a more holistic way has also manifested itself less overtly through the likes of Kurt Vile’s consistently engrossing Wakin On A Pretty Daze; perhaps a reaction to the way that, in the age of the Internet, listening to music has become increasingly about the quick-fix.

On his fourth solo full-length, 33-year-old electronic artist Jon Hopkins arguably perpetuates this reactionary trend, but what really distinguishes Immunity is its use of dance music as a platform for elevating the immersive power of the album format. Throughout, Hopkins employs tropes typically associated with club music, yet he constantly twists, elongates, mutates and distorts them. Taken as a whole, it’s a minefield of sonic creativity.

The record’s first half is the more beat-infused side, where profusions of pulsing synths and bassy throbs drag the listener all the way to the intense stomp of ‘Collider’, spilling into the washed-out ambience of ‘Abandon Window’ just when it all starts to get a little too claustrophobic. The latter track’s achingly spare piano sets the tone for a soothingly blissful second-half, but in truth, there are flourishes of beauty to be found throughout the entire course of this record.

Hopkins employs tropes typically associated with club music, yet he constantly twists, elongates, mutates and distorts them. Taken as a whole, it’s a minefield of sonic creativity.

In fact, what makes Hopkins stand-out from other like-minded electronic artists is his ability to seamlessly roll together the visceral and the beautiful within the very parameters of individual songs. For instance, listen to the dreamy radiance that glitters the otherwise predominately groove-centeredness on early highlight ‘Open Eye Signal’. In a recent interview with Pitchfork, Hopkins expressed his admiration for late-period Talk Talk, and indeed, the way in which Immunity’s trajectory is at once dissonant and transcendent certainly cements uncanny parallels between Hopkins and the influential experimental rock act.

Having collaborated with some big names over the past few years (including Brian Eno and Coldplay), Hopkins has been fairly proactive in the music world for some time now. But in a similar vein to Frank Ocean last year, the London-based producer appears to have finally transcended his behind-the-scenes status by creating a cohesive piece of art that is both captivating and all-encompassing. Ultimately, Immunity triumphantly proves the potential of not just the album format, but also Hopkins’ own artistry.

Similar To: Pantha du Prince, Talk Talk

MP3: [It’s an album, remember?!]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeBdrFMKTzM