JON HOPKINS 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: Jon Hopkins' fourth album Immunity is a bona fide classic that is now a full ten years old. To celebrate the milestone, it has been newly remastered for this special reissue. Listening back now reminds you just what a confident and adventurous record this was - a creative trip deep inside Hopkins' mind that brought totters everything he had done and learned up to that point. The focus was firmly on the dancefloor but still, the tracks come with plenty of emotional nuances, from sad piano motifs to stirring choral drones but shifting rhythms and real-world sound effects that brought the whole thing to life.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***


We never quite know what to expect from leftfield explorer Jon Hopkins, but we know it will be worth a listen. Immunity, his fourth solo album (he's recorded two others, one with Brian Eno and another with King Creosote), doesn't disappoint. Rooted in shuffling, forthright and occasionally off-kilter rhythms, it melds hazy, late night atmospherics and subtle melodies with intense, droning chords, woozy electronics and all manner of inventive noises. It's a blend that repeatedly pays dividends, from the mournful pianos and jumpy rhythms of "Breathe This Air', to the crystalline, soundscape ambience of "Abandon Window", and glitchy wonkiness of "Form By Firelight".

Review: At this stage in his career, Jon Hopkins should be able to do whatever the hell he likes. After proving his synaesthetic abilities throughout the 2010s - with masterpieces like 'Light Through The Veins' and his last album 'Singularity'- it's clear this climactic electronica artist knows no bounds. Now he debuts a new full guided meditation-style LP documenting his ketamine-fulled revelations realised in a remote Ecuadorian cave. Relinquishing beats and drum sounds, this is a fully ambient affair from Hopkins, and routinely features soothing, sampled vocal snippets from the late yogi and guru Baba Ram Daas, as well as collabs with producer and psychedelic ceremony guide East Forest.

Review: Much has been made of Jon Hopkins' intentions with his new album Music For Psychedelic Therapy, but whether you're a devoted tripper or a sober psychonaut his new album has plenty to offer. Of course Hopkins has more than proved himself over the years as a phenomenal producer and composer, but here he's replaced his brooding cinematic techscapes for blissful ambience draped in rich overtones and gently drifting patterns of melody and rhythm. It's wholly invigorating and relaxing, clearly designed to soothe the listener in stark contrast to the shock and awe he normally inspires amongst his considerable fan base.

Review: Having taken time out to travel the world and experience new things (including psychedelic substances in California), John Hopkins planned to make Singularity, his ninth album, "a sonic ecosystem that starts and ends on the same note". He soon got frustrated by these limitations, so instead just laid down a fluid and hazy album that combines his usual luscious, ambient electronics with a variety of sparse, heavy and off-kilter rhythms. While undeniably laidback in parts, the album also boasts a number of foreboding techno workouts and uses a wider palette of instrumental sounds than we've come to expect (including some fine strings and his own intricate piano playing). The resultant set is rather impressive, all told, and while not quite a "sonic ecosystem", it's certainly an enjoyable journey.

Review: Having taken time out to travel the world and experience new things (including psychedelic substances in California), John Hopkins planned to make Singularity, his ninth album, "a sonic ecosystem that starts and ends on the same note". He soon got frustrated by these limitations, so instead just laid down a fluid and hazy album that combines his usual luscious, ambient electronics with a variety of sparse, heavy and off-kilter rhythms. While undeniably laidback in parts, the album also boasts a number of foreboding techno workouts and uses a wider palette of instrumental sounds than we've come to expect (including some fine strings and his own intricate piano playing). The resultant set is rather impressive, all told, and while not quite a "sonic ecosystem", it's certainly an enjoyable journey.

Review: Having taken time out to travel the world and experience new things (including psychedelic substances in California), John Hopkins planned to make Singularity, his ninth album, "a sonic ecosystem that starts and ends on the same note". He soon got frustrated by these limitations, so instead just laid down a fluid and hazy album that combines his usual luscious, ambient electronics with a variety of sparse, heavy and off-kilter rhythms. While undeniably laidback in parts, the album also boasts a number of foreboding techno workouts and uses a wider palette of instrumental sounds than we've come to expect (including some fine strings and his own intricate piano playing). The resultant set is rather impressive, all told, and while not quite a "sonic ecosystem", it's certainly an enjoyable journey.

Review: Although you're probably into the current wave of ambient that is being released today, one must pay homage to the original innovators of the genre. Jon Hopkins is one such producer; an integral part of the British downtempo wave of the late 90s and early 2000s which has featured other ground-breaking artists like Squarepusher, The Orbital and many more. Opalescent is his debut album from 2001, and this reissue is pressed up by the original Just Music imprint from back in the day. Hopkins' music on here is the sort of stuff to be enjoyed by a any sort of listener; bittersweet electronic soul that touches many different aspects of electronica and IDM. From the placid waves of "Elegaic", to the break-driven balearica of "Private Universe", through to the spectral "Opalescent" itself, and the more industrial tones of "Fading Glow", Jon Hopkins takes the listener through the full cycle, and gives us many different reasons to find this album still as compelling as it was back fifteen years ago.

Review: Jon Hopkins is a bit of a legend, really. He's contributed to works by artist as diverse as Brian Eno and Coldplay amongst others, while always continuing to push the boundaries with his own solo-work. This time all you techno freaks are in for a special treat because the Domino label has really pushed the buttons on this one. UK bass-filtered techno pioneers, Pangaea, Karenn and Objekt all put in a surprise appearance on remixing his infamous "Collider" track. In that line of order, The Hessle Audio co-founder goes straighter than usual thanks to a rickety 4/4 stomp that's nothing short of sublime and probably a pleasure to play out on the floor. Pariah and Blawan give us a taste of their Karenn project and as expected, they go in real hard without even any shred of mercy on the kicks, whilst Berlin-based Objekt rewires the original into a broken, nasty, ripping bundle of kicks and licks.

Review: We never quite know what to expect from leftfield explorer Jon Hopkins, but we know it will be worth a listen. Immunity, his fourth solo album (he's recorded two others, one with Brian Eno and another with King Creosote), doesn't disappoint. Rooted in shuffling, forthright and occasionally off-kilter rhythms, it melds hazy, late night atmospherics and subtle melodies with intense, droning chords, woozy electronics and all manner of inventive noises. It's a blend that repeatedly pays dividends, from the mournful pianos and jumpy rhythms of "Breathe This Air', to the crystalline, soundscape ambience of "Abandon Window", and glitchy wonkiness of "Form By Firelight".

Review: "Open Eyes Signal" taken from Jon Hopkins' forthcoming Immunity album on Domino receives a healthy dose of remixes from Nosaj Thing, Happa and Lord Of The Isles. Perhaps the most exciting movement of the original track is the fast and rugged Keith Fullerton Whitman-like drum breakdown after a bent and twisted crescendo. The EP then moves nicely into Nosaj Thing's bass humming and bed slat percussive remix, while young nipper Happa keeps things typically rough and overdriven in his remix. Lord Of The Isles electro gurgling and synthy-bright remake takes the EP from 45rpm to 33rpm with an equally challenging, but accessible remix.

Review: Virtuoso musician Jon Hopkins and Kelly Lee Owens are a perfect compliment for each other on their new EP for Domino. Both are leaders in their field and used to exploring outside the usual lines, which is what they do here. "Luminous Spaces" was meant to be an Owens remix of a track from Hopkins' 2018 album SIngularity but instead she recorded new synths and vocals for it. The result is sparkling bit of melodic and astral techno that gets you lost in the lushness as you sink ever further into a trance. "Luminous Beings" is a deeper anymore thoughtful vision that makes a different but equally real impact.