Mumdance - "One of my favourite albums of 2014, crucial."
- Mr Mitch - "Some of the most beautiful music I've heard this year, no doubt."
- Logos - "Haven't been able to stop listening to this LP - it sounds strangely organic but with a playful poise and cybernetic sheen that recalls video game soundtracks as much as classic grime."
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In Yamaneko's world, things are rarely as they seem. Although Pixel Wave Embrace is the London-based producer's first release, he's quietly built up a reputation over the last 12 months, with his tracks frequently appearing in sets by Mumdance, Logos and DJ Milktray.
It's an album that deals in illusions: although water is a prominent influence on the record, it's not found in the places you'd expect ('Seabrooke Rise' and 'Primrose Island' have little to do with water), and despite grime being a major influence on Yamaneko, there are no samples from grime records here; instead, he twists samples from the places you'd least expect into the sort of flat snares you'd associate with classic records from unsung grime acts like Imp Batch. Another key part of what makes Yamaneko tick is his love of new age and meditational cassettes; Pixel Wave Embrace was designed for the cassette format and will be released as such.
Pixel Wave Embrace is part of a trilogy of sorts, together with March's Pixel Juice Mix and a Pixel Healing Spa session which will be broadcast in the lead-up to this album's release.