Jon Hopkins - Immunity

Domino

June 3rd, 2013.

Jon Hopkins' fourth studio album feels like the monster that lives up in the mountains. Waiting for its time to come back down to earth, biding its time for the right moment to unleash its presence once again. 10 years removed and it still sounds, as well as feels, like the future of electronic music.

Beats breathe and hum and haw. They've got a tangible grip on reality - they feel things. If ever a release was to be regarded as 'sentient', it's Immunity. It knows more about you than you do - it's a wise being; wise beyond its form. The genre of IDM and its 'Intelligent' tag seem redundant and over-bearing for the most part, but every now and then an album comes along that fits the 'Intelligent' descriptor - making it apropos and fully fitting.

The winds of time softly hold Immunity; they caress and care for it - no matter how nasty things may become. Flecks of sunshine saunter through its electric buzz. A crystal clear kaleidoscope - a window into the past, present and future; everything said, everything unsaid. Like an all-seeing eye Immunity sees things through the lens of perspective - emotion ceases to fog its view. Unswayed by external circumstance Immunity is one of purity. The sands that time deals in offers up a glimpse at the real thing - you take what you're given; a snapshot of infinity. Spilling through the cracks in space. Travelling first-hand through your memories; their clarity 3D in feel. Tangibly tough and excruciatingly close to home.

A loosely organic robustness permeates from the rigidity of the material - the magnetic pulse throbs things forward in a crushing yet delicate motion. Introspectively ambient and liberatingly aloof, Immunity catches the fine balance between hope and despair right where it resonates.

How to get the most out of the minimal 101.