- Tripped-out breakbeat house.
- You would never guess Suspended Animation is Bolam's first vinyl release. He emerges fully formed, inaugurating the Space Dust sub-label of UK imprint Alien Communications. Space Dust had planned to start with a compilation release, but when they hit up Bolam for a contribution, his three demos were all so good, the label says, plans had to change.
The Scottish producer, whose journey has taken him from the remote Shetland Islands to his current home of Malmö, hits on an infectious style of breakbeat house. It's escapist dance music, created in lockdown and eagerly awaiting a dance floor to show its full potential.
Across the whole EP, there's a push and pull between airtight drum programming and free-flowing, never-ending pads. Trippy, alien sounds bubble up from a colourful underbelly and fizz around the deeply rooted percussion. Bolam clearly knows his way around a bassline, and puts it to work on opener "Florion Heights," which recalls "Game Over," Sansibar's bomb from last year.
"Comfort Zone" is lean and choppy, with clean and clinical sound design. You can hear the influence of Orbital or The Future Sound Of London, whose epic soundscapes are distilled into singular elements of Bolam's tracks.
TracklistA1 Florion Heights
A2 Comfort Zone
B1 The Mothership