b1. Primer - Tal pt.II by Rarefied

This year is set to be another vivid chapter for Rarefied, whose special brand of Dubstep has stretched the genre into outer-national and psychedelic headspaces with transmissions from Soukah, T.A.R and Sibla.

The newest artifact from Primer is par-for-the-course. Four tracks that weave field recordings from windswept bogs, worldly sample digging from molding phonographs found in dusty basements, and loose rhythmic constructions that are a mongrel blend of contemporary rap, Croydon Dubstep, and Brainfeeder.

From the ghostly oud playing that graces across the homespun percussion of “Nowhere and Nothing”, the refracted horn sections of “Drowned” to the shimmering addendum of “Tal pt.II, Primer chalks a fine line between headphone moments and dance floor material. Ultimately, the melodic, hypnagogic fragility of “I Had a Faraway Dream” is an especially poignant curtain call for Rarefied’s first record of 2019.