TRANSLUCENCE by MISHA SULTAN

Misha Sultan offers a twin set of deeply mystic shapeshifters for his outing on Patience, entitled Translucence. On both sides Sultan mines the depths of the mystery to summon two unique cuts both earthly in origin but stirring with an undeniably cosmic energy. Incorporating sounds arising from the Far East of his Russian origins, Sultan displays an affection for the esoteric and a mastery of instrumentation that, combined with a deft grasp of contemporary production, makes for a lush, beguiling trip out of time.

Not Every Lake Dreams Of Being A Magic Swamp is an invitation to contemplation, building off a central, reverbed guitar loop and droning synth pads before a serene flute floats over gently lilting bells and sampled chants. The track breaks down completely into an almost raga before rebuilding as a heavily percussive flute and organ jam, a lost tape from Between or Popul Vuh at their most ceremonial.

On the B side, When Barong Met The Nordic Curandero He Was Surprised takes the already celestial sound of the gamelan further into space. With seismic drum hits, insistent flutes and sinister synths pushing the increasingly frenetic gamelan patterns further and further out, they eventually combust and reenter earths atmosphere in the shape of a jammy, punky dub track.

The two tracks of Translucence make for a complementary duo of healing, exploratory music, a thrilling chapter in Misha Sultan’s work and a most welcome addition to the Patience catalogue.

Misha Sultan is from Siberia and has previously released solo music on Hair Del, Hive Mind, DIG and Echotourist. A prolific collaborator and live musician, he’s also producing, mixing and mastering music for other artists. He’s currently based outside of Russia.