6.12.19 by Ryan Masteller

The collected recordings format is a special thing, whether it’s a greatest hits compilation or a career-spanning box set or a clean-out-the-hard-drive b-side dump (which is also often box set treatment). The placement of so much material side-by-side can offer a glimpse into the artist’s creative process, and can juxtapose one era of innovation with another. So even if you’re faced with a hundred alternate takes of “Whole Lotta Love,” you’ll know way more about Led Zeppelin at the end of it than you might ever have thought possible. You superfan, you!

Swedish electronic artist Dughpa has a superfan in Austin, Texas, label Night Rhythms, who have here packaged “Dughpa” and “II” together in a lovely little set for the discerning synthesizer music consumer out there. I mean, just listen to this effusive praise that came to me ready-to-post in the body of the email!: “Minimal retro-futuristic biology film synth… or space library musikk [sic]… or… intercepted outsider transmissions… or… some of my favorite ambient of the last five years…” That’s all exactly what I would have said, if you had ONLY GIVEN ME THE CHANCE. At least we can agree on it.

Dughpa’s headspace is definitely retro Zelda or retro Asimov or retro Herbert, even “Retro Puppet Master,” which I somehow caught the Rifftrax version of recently, but has a soundtrack vibe similar to Dughpa’s. Don’t read anything into that though – surely just coincidence. But when you’re consistently coming up with minimal melodies that could perfectly accompany the “Twilight Zone”-ish action of any thinky sci-fi or horror production, you’ll just end up with too much music to go around. Some of it will have to be wasted on the “Retro Puppet Masters” of the world.

Now – when Night Rhythms’s website is back up, you can go buy one of these. Till then, check out both albums included in the set streaming below.