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February: 18 albums you need to hear this month
Nightmares On Wax, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Nils Frahm and more
Amandra 'Dame De Bahia' (Obscura)
There’s a deep, resonant hum that underpins Amandra’s music, and acts as a comforting presence no matter the intensity of whatever the French techno producer surrounds it with. Amandra’s use of live loops is one of his defining characteristics: take the title track, which has a foundation of a delicate, single-note drone augmented by sporadic icy synth phrases, before it’s finally brought to life with choppy, helicopter-style rhythm. On ‘Gavaudan’, he slides elegantly into ambient techno, folding in dub echo as it swings along gently at 75bpm. But Amandra can mix it up, too, as proven by the fidgety ‘Polichinela’, with its enveloping drone and hissing percussion. Beautiful and immersive, it’s music that will seduce you through your headphones. Stephen Worthy
8/10
