I first saw Jon Hopkins in the unlikeliest of surroundings, ‘supporting’ Coldplay’s free fans-only gig at Brixton Academy last June. He was easily the high point of the evening, as with little more than a laptop and a projector he cast something of a spell with his music and images, showing off his potential. Sure enough it wasn’t long before he signed to Domino, for whom he has recorded an extremely accomplished debut. Sometimes his sounds are reminiscent of ‘Lifeforms’ or ‘ISDN’-era Future Sound of London, in the way he uses harsher bass sounds and occasionally tough drum beats, though the fragile piano loops that often circulate overhead are all his own work. Domino’s website has it right with the description of Hopkins as a ‘musical shapeshifter’ – he knows how to blend each track together to make an extremely fulfilling whole, the musical webs beautifully spun and realised.
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Ben Hogwood
