Justin Robertson’s Everything is Turbulence is a reminder of why the artist album still has a place in dance music. Whereas singles shoot for club plays, albums like this one are an exploration of the artist with a far less direct goal in mind. It is a record that sounds as good on the bus home as at 3am in your favourite nightclub, with a musicality and emotion lacked by most.
True to its title, the album does not have a clichéd unifying theme, blending techno and acid with experimental sounds. Perhaps the most straightforward track on the album is I Am Automatic, a collaboration with Daniel Avery, whose rhythmic influence is distinctly notable. In contrast, Metal Taste and Sacred Bone are more psychedelic, influenced by a a finely tuned appreciation of music in all its forms. At just over a minute in length, The Magnificent Hand makes clear that not every track on the album is destined for the club, with its spacey synths.
Haunting in places and stripped back and punchy in others, the collection is more of a showcase. Techno is pushed beyond being just dance music, romanticised into something that truly inspires emotion as much as it inspires movement. This is not a straightforward club record, and Justin’s passion for crate-digging shines through in some of the beautifully curated sounds on tracks like Bajo La Luna and Joseph’s Kiss.
Justin’s wife Sofia provides the vocals on For One Touch, adding a further aspect of the personal to the sonic exploration that the album represents for Justin. Everything is Turbulence strikes the balance between experimentally leftfield and enticingly beautiful.
iTunes: itunes.apple.com/gb/album/everything-is-turbulence
Spotify: play.spotify.com/album
Official Store: skint.tmstor.es
