APPAREL REVIEW:

Portable - My Sentient Shadow [Circus Company]


As some of you may start to figure out, we prefer to listen to (therefore to write about) unexpected, unconventional, experimental music. That’s the case of the next LP by Portable called My Sentient Shadow, out the next 4th of February 2022 on the label Circus Company (double LP + digital).

The globetrotting artist, born in South Africa then moved to London and now settled in Paris, bring into his newest record a huge amount of sonic investigations, choosing carefully the sounds and exhibiting his expertise as a music producer. It is clear since the beginning, with The Simulacrum and The Spacetime Curvature how deep and peculiar his sonic explorations are going to be in this LP, with some Electro/Funk vibes melted with spacey/odd vocal sampling. Foreign To You (feat. NiQ E) presents some tribal-ish rhythmics, a hint of smooth acidity and a majestic vocal performance by one of the two guests of this album, while The Self Assembling makes the listener breathe some fresh 4/4 air, yet again featuring an intricate rhythm section. The next trio of tracks Analogue World, Cages and I Feel Stronger Now are instead a perfect sinusoidal climax of sonic emotions (another example of Portable’s versatility), taking the listener by the hand towards the end of the record. We Exist feat. Mandy Alexander is just another milestone on the road to experimentation with its far-out, introspective and whimsical harmonic evolutions, while Ripple Effect slows down the heartbeat before the franticly warm intensity of the closing Fractal Distortion. All in all it’s been a pleasure to listen to My Sentient Shadow before its actual release, before it’s out for everyone to enjoy. Good luck to Portable and Circus Company for this nice project which represents an interesting sonic journey and -more importantly- a truly original one, as we like.