new music: the dream and sampha join sbtrkt to imagine human colonization of space on ‘save yourself’ #soundcheck

The wind-swept synths and dusty beats that pepper the landscape of SBTRKT’s latest record sound like a memory of the music of 2016 in the head of the first human settlers of another planet. The assembled collaborators on ‘SAVE YOURSELF,’ which includes The Dream, Sampha, D.R.A.M., and Mabel, paint pictures of haunted nostalgia. Songs about the struggle for connection in the modern world and the struggle to express pain over experimental electronica. The album asks us to save ourselves while asking the question of whether we can, or even should. Ultimately there’s an optimism beneath the reverberated atmosphere; the idea of what we can accomplish should we succeed. SBTRKT explains: “The title SAVE YOURSELF and the visuals reflect my personal mood on what’s happening in the world and society on a macro and micro level. Whether that be racism, xenophobia, the environment or irresponsible greedy politicians. All this while thinking about how incredible it will be when humans actually reach and settle on another planet.”

By Nathan Leigh, AFROPUNK Contributor