This isn't Sanoi's first venture on Beat and Path. In 2019, the Berliner released a low, chugging EP through this label, a glowing debut entitled Drive. Then late last year, he followed up with a Jodorowsky-channelling festival anthem, Walking (in collaboration with Jake Rattler). But where these releases were playa weapons, Sanoi's newest enterprise is an autobiographical concept album, taking us into a more vulnerable part of the artist's mind. And unlike many concept albums, this one is consistently danceable.
Right from the start, there's a fine balance of soul searching and bottom-end sway. When I Was A Little Boy (track one) opens with the sounds of children playing, while organic percussion quietly swings its way into the frame and leads us into a subtle, nostalgic deep house number. The low frequencies are growling but restrained, while the high end is celestial, bringing Sanoi's fellow Berlin-resident Powel to mind. In psychedelic states, life-scenes will sometimes project themselves onto a backdrop of patterned visual motifs. In a similar way, Sanoi projects childhood scenes onto the constant four-four of the beat here, and the result is hallucinogenic and personal.
Tracklisting
- When I was a little boy
- Castle on the hill
- Untitled
- A moment in time
- Project number xxx
- Asmodi
- Trees of green