Sylph Upends Expectations with Snakeskin EP

This is not your older brother's psy-trance; When it comes to reimagining the relationship between psybient and disparate genres, Sylph is spearheading that research one release at a time. Partnering up with Shanti Planti, her latest EP, Snakeskin, exudes the classic style and fortified production expected from the label’s releases, simultaneously infused with the hallmarks of her compositional gait. Known for setting the standard for spiritually-accented bass music, Shanti Planti and their devout audience is an impeccable fit for the Snakeskin EP. In prime genre bending fashion, it is a maze of psychotropic sounds and textures brought to life by animated arrangements, exploring the relationship between the somatic and psychological hemispheres of perspective.

Debuting with the Alien Speak EP in 2018 through The Rust, Sylph has taken her aural visions to new heights, drawing on an extensive appetite for production knowledge and engineering fundamentals. The distance from then until Snakeskin feels like barely a few months in the mind, but the clear distinction and pronounced evolution of her skill sets have paid off in full. The opening track “Labyrinth”, is speckled with airy and elemental moments while rolling pads straddle pulsating sub bass. Her verbose and vocal sound design comes across as a nearly intelligible language born out of melody and rhythm. “Medusa” begins with hollow, panning tones that engender a meditative harmony. Calming and tribal, the soft resonating string sounds give it extraordinary depth and clarity. 

Like the ambient backdrop of a proper cave, “Prophet” exudes shuddered, salient energy and explores darker thematic tones than the rest of the EP. Taking inspiration from the expanse of system music, her genre bending slithers somewhere between trance and 140. With panning melodies and periodic vocals accented by drips and echoes, Sylph recreates a feeling of rippling water down hard, cold rock. The final song, “Quicksand”, leans on her fierce and cinematic take on heavy bass music. Utilizing percussive ramps and a powerful control of tension and release, the track reaches its zenith amidst a torrent of low-end impacts and brazen palettes of glitched-out textures, bringing Snakeskin to a resounding close.

Sylph is a clear student of clarity, a dancer in the darkness, and a motivator for those who see the lines between style as bridges to cross. Her bold flavor and crisp character has us writhing for more music, but it’s the patient wait that’s yielded the most fruitful results time and time again. Until then, keep your eyes and ears squarely centered on the rising trajectory of this stellar artist.

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