Mister Bloo creates a playfully nostalgic blend of influences from house and techno to the philosophy of higher planes across “Blindfolded Octagonal Jaguar” featuring some really solid dance moments emerging from the thickets of trip experimentation.
Imagining a blindfolded octagonal jaguar is an exercise that feels immediately psychedelic, and in the radiant pools of deep techno energy that open as you travel through the neon woods of this release, you can see the reflections of the world on the cover.
Odd-limbed jungle cats, complex tessellations of color, a peak at spiritual wisdom or the dharma—the warping of words, “It’s just a feeling” deepen this notion. A booming kick drops in, and a happy congregation of chords build deceptively against musical expectation before settling into solid house-infused euphoria. “That’s what the fourth dimension is all about, no words, no symbols, no images.” The music builds energy deliberately like a skillfully administered DJ set striking red hot when least expected. Funky house and an energizing baseline are paired with a deluge of shakers and hypnotizing vocal samples in “Temporary Jewels.”
“Blindfolded Octagonal Jaguar” harkens back to a classical or more unified music in the production like back when House, Techno, and Trance all shared more similar DNA but reupholstered with modern dancefloor sensibilities, and invigorated by flourishes of shining synths and the occasional kick utterly shredded by saturation.
The gleeful hypnosis of tracks like “Jennie and the Bets” would find a happy home in many a deep techno set; the production is deft and oddly soothing even in the most energetic moments. “Opal” skips along a chiptune influence and seems to emanate from a world of saturated, 256 bit Atari color.
In the shorter, intermission style tracks on the release, Alan-Watts style vocal samples pull you into a kind of guided fugue state. The penultimate tracks have a welcome quality of joyous nostalgia, like Deadmau5 as heard by M83 in a dream, complete with massive electro stabs, grand layers of emotion, and gauzy voices, barely audible through walls of reverb.
Put together, the entire “Blindfolded Octagonal Jaguar” release feels like frantic dreaming.
-Winston Mann
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