»Conscious EP« by Izmar

Dutch-based artist Izmar has been releasing on Monotonik for a couple of years now, starting with his marvellous pair of ‘Aze’ albums, which shifted him way away from minimal techno roots into almost Fila Brazillia-style jazzelectronic territory. Now, we get a second follow-up EP, ‘Conscious’, which shifts his wonderful nu-chill in yet another direction, thanks to his unusual use of a sitar on top of his normal voice and live instrument cornucopia.

Thus, we start with ‘Walking’, a typically languid, wordless vocal-filled piece which sounds gorgeous even before the spiralling sitar solo comes in over the top, gently vibrating its way to ecstacy. Switching things up a little, ‘Ippe Oppe’ cuts in some scratching and sneaky samples inbetween some fading brass and progressive percussion. Finally, it’s all about ‘Weird Friend’, a fitting downtempo ending which kicks into a majestic sitar jam halfway through. We heart you, Izmar.