Illum Sphere – Ghosts of Then and Now

Manchester's Illum Sphere has been making waves for some time now, as founder of the HoyaHoya club nights, winning the BBC Radio 1Xtra Urban Music Award in 2010, and releasing a string of critically-acclaimed EPs and 12"s on labels like Fat City, Tectonic, 3024 and Young Turks. For Ghosts of Then and Now, he broadens his sonic pallette to reflect the diversity of his new home on Ninja Tune, incorporating lush broken beat, understated atmospheric hip-hop, and aesthetic flourishes which borrow from the LA beat scene, 90s underground electronica and UK soul.

The spectral 2-step of At Night, with vocals from Mai Nestor, nods to the understated UK bass sounds of producers like Ikonika; first single Sleeprunner plays with a retro-futuristic synth arpeggio; The Road, one of three cuts featuring vocalist Shadowbox, investigates the template of ghostly 2-step to profound effect. Elsewhere, flashes of electronic folk and muted house, and washes of delicate post-dubstep round out an ambitious and rewarding debut. [Bram E. Gieben]