MEIO-DIA

Young synth player and electronic manipulator Gustavo Jobim hails from Brazil and has been releasing a stream of fascinating and experimental prog-electronic discs for many years now, and like much of his back catalogue, 2017's `Meio-Dia' takes little traces of vintage Berlin School elements and twists them with all sorts of unpredictable style and direction changes in both modern and retro ways. It's an experimental work that is constantly full of colour, movement and liveliness, and one that likes to move between buoyant energy and eerier danger, as well as allowing a Krautrock-like scuzzy wildness to seep in.

Twenty-two minute opener `Meio-Dia' (Noon) offers a blistering array of runaway electric piano, reflective organ solace, imposing Mellotron confrontations and hypnotic prog-electronic drifts all given a relentless push forwards by constantly up- tempo peppy beats, bouncing programming and fuzzy melting soloing.

There's a lightly unhinged psychedelic danger and driving Kraftwerk/`Autobahn'-like momentum permeating `Piramide' (Pyramid) with its undulating sequencing popping in and out of swirling and hazy ambient washes, grumbling electric guitar samples and unceasing pattering beats before it splinters into distorted breakdowns and feverish computer glitching soloing.

Despite opening and closing with eerie reflective reaches, the shorter album closer `Eterno Retorno' (Eternal Return) bristles with lurking darker jangling sequencing, with just a touch of Klaus Schulze infiltrating the droning heaviness and lush panoramic ambient synth expanses rising and falling throughout.

With a diverse and eclectic body of work behind him, `Meio-Dia' is a good middle ground for newcomers - light retro touches that call to mind the vintage prog-electronic masters but given a unique sampling of Gustavo's own personality. It also runs a welcome vinyl length (someone PLEASE release this on vinyl!) and best of all, there's a real sense of fun through parts of the album that never become lightweight or silly! If you're a listener that likes their prog-electronic sprinkled with a Krautrock seasoning, `Meio-Dia' might be just for you, and it easily makes a case for being one of the most striking electronic releases of 2017.

Four stars.