New Metome: “Sathima”

Not to get too goopy about it, but I recently visited Osaka (uhhh, look out for that one soon?) and was frequently revisiting…mentally and verbally…the period from about 2011 to the start of 2014 where the city’s electronic music scene was going full gear. Today, like it has in many places, the gap between underground and commercial has expanded drastically, and it is tough imagining producers moving up the ranks like they did a few years back. Which isn’t to say the actual music has dipped in quality…it hasn’t at all, as new faces and familiar names continue to create thrilling stuff.

Metome was part of that groundswell a few years ago, and he’s explored all sorts of sounds in the years since. “Sathima,” uploaded recently to SoundCloud, feels like a nod to the past though, with its cascading bass slaps and vocal hiccups (not to mention artwork bringing to mind Metome circa Objet). It is a number that morphs into all sorts of shapes, full of details that practically rub up against you (that piano, those water drops!). Yet there is also something sad lurking within “Sathima.” It moves a touch slower than older Metome songs — instead of bursting into a bunch of joyous little fireworks, this one kinda marches along, with just little bursts coming up — and even those familiar water droplets carry a melancholy to them. Which, funny enough, singles another shift for Metome, albeit one built on familiar sounds — the whirlwind approach to making a song remains, but now it is stripped down (a bit) and made reflective. Listen above.