Review: Skee Mask – B
Bryan Müller aka Skee Mask has rapidly risen to the forefront of electronic music production – and rightly so.
Back in 2020, he released ISS005 via Ilian Tape, a smorgasbord of choppy cuts, old-school breakbeat, and overwhelming energy.
What makes Skee Mask so exciting is not only his ability to produce a constantly evolving collection of fresh-sounding music, but also move between genres and styles that he brings together with a finesse for understanding the whole spectrum of the “electronic” world, and the relationship between them.
B is the follow up to A, which was released back in 2020. Together, they encompass a selection of unreleased tracks made between 2017 and 2020, and highlight nothing short of a producing genius.
It opens with P. Prog, a weaving sequencer pinging unpredictably like the inside of an arcade machine, before melting into warming ethereal echoes. Steamer (Early Mix) is a graceful series of chord progressions that breathe melodies in rhythm with choppy drum riffs. It is contrasted by the follow-up Steamer (AD Mix), which, almost by magic, has deconstructed the core elements of its sister track and rearranged the components, scales and bass drives to create a harder, more urgent atmosphere.
Jambient and JD 372 are atmospheric compositions that take a sharp U-turn from earlier beat-heavy tracks, instead focusing entirely on how to fill a space the absence of drums and basslines leave behind.
Closer Portal Perc returns to the classic Skee style, mashing together a luscious droning with reverberating hi-hats and tittering drums.
B is something to be savoured in two ways – the complexity of the record as a whole, and the textured intricacy of each track on its own. It’s a delight to have these released to the world.
