Modes

Mick Chillage could very well be the hardest working man in electronica, taking the reins of that position from the late Pete Namlook. What is more startling about the seemingly large quantity of work available from him in the past few years (and upcoming as well) is the high level of quality control he maintains throughout; nary a note is ill-placed, misaligned, or wasted. Chillage's working methods are efficient to say the least, exemplary to say the most; the consummate musician, he's not one to sit still or allow his muse to stagnate, equally at home channeling any number of sub-genres, be it fleet electro or galvanizing intense atmosphere. His 2016 release finds the erstwhile sonic frontiersman alternating a beautifully involving series of tracks that deftly straddle spheres both inner and outer. (M)odes paints Chillage as introspective, questing, soul-searching; the plaintive piano chords and twinkling synths of "Nico's Gate" suggest ancient rituals of deep contemplation, a re-examining of spiritualism as much as a vault heavenwards across the stars. The paragon of beauty that is "Midnight Mist" illustrates precisely what Chillage does best, digging down into the circuit boards of his trusty synths to exact the revealing science of gods. It's at once splendorous and awe-inspiring to behold, (M)odes of (in)alienation as gripping as they come.