In the landscape of independent electronic music, a bevy of formative musicians, producers, and engineers are viewed as having pioneered the current paradigms in the production and composition philosophy of this alternative sonic hemisphere. Amongst those prescient audionauts, Dave Tipper has served as an anchor and inspiration for an entire generation of fans and musicians alike. It’s been five years since the release of Forward Escape, a seminal dive into the expanse and attitude of compositionally rich electronic music. In the time since, Tipper has gradually redefined the framework of his musical output, as well as set a new standard on the design philosophy of curated live events. The inclusive, sonically-driven, detail-oriented vision that precludes his personal events and concerts has raised the benchmark time and time again, following in tandem with the almost biological evolution of his music. The frequency in which he unveils new material during his performances vastly outweighs the frequency in which he unveils new studio releases, but like most good dishes, he lets the music come to a slow roast before serving it as a full meal. Such is the case with Jettison Mind Hatch, the next installment in Tipper’s ongoing journey into space and sound. Replete with innumerable tones, textures, patches, samples, and compositional evolution, the album is a further testament to Tipper’s engineering and production knowledge; album to album, he demonstrates the impact and aural charisma achievable through an absolute focus on fidelity, and Jettison Mind Hatch is unquestionably another level of refinement atop his notably lucid catalog.

If the titular definition of an album is the most direct path to the album’s intent, then Jettison Mind Hatch could hardly be more fitting; from the very first steps into the lucent waters of the intro track “Sayonara”, the mind begs to be let loose of its daily toil. Synthesis paints ardent hues across the total spectrum of stereo space, setting the pace for an emotional experience expressed through harmony and cadence. The elasticity of the tones has a way of carrying the listener not just through the song’s breadth, but through the song’s perpetual state of buoyancy. This idea of buoyancy is a staple of Tipper productions, though the expression of it continues to manifest in ever more vivacious textures. “Viscous” brings the concept in an entirely different direction from the album’s instigation, sending synthetic condensation straight into a blender of melody, filtration, and cascading atmospheres. Once the track folds unto itself for the final time, it smoothly dissolves out of the mix, revealing the nascent ambience of “Sahra”. An overture for dunes, mirages, and grating winds, this song swells and drips with interwoven semitones and droning soundscapes. The percussion rattles and springs along the circuitry of the track’s rhythm, with reverberant pops signaling every turn and refrain.

“Tethers” reinvigorates the atmosphere of the album with effervescent chords and arpeggios falling back onto acoustic drums and duplicitous rhythms. The jazz influence in the percussion can hardly be overlooked, as they channel a palpable attitude that carries the underbelly of the song. The deviations and glitches that burst between the aural focal points fill out the creamy center of the track, rising and expanding until hitting the optimal temperature. It’s at that specific temperature that “Tethers” splits open into an oxygen-rich head trip, building upon itself throughout every measure until it spills back out of the stereo image. Slowly entering that open space, “Permatemp” slides into the ear fully baked and fully stereophonic. The rise and fall of the lead lines bounce the mind to and fro with a gentle push, while the momentary flashes of starlight synthesis saunter along in step with every downbeat. Bringing a palatable finality to the album, “Oi Oi Spit” strikes a gentle balance between harmony and dissonance in a dance of phased-out synthesis and illusory textures. The thematic elements of the song reflect that balance, and indeed the equilibrium of the album, through its gradual evolution, swelling and vibrating at a sine curve pace until it reaches its final moments of Jettison Mind Hatch.

Without so much as missing a step, Dave Tipper continues to reinvent the sonic wheel, taking musical fundamentalism into fantastically sapient territories. The biosynthetic archetype of Tipper’s music is itself an amorphous nebula of audio twists and turns, and Jettison Mind Hatch succeeds in finding yet another new direction to turn unto. In the wake of the album’s release, Tipper is poised to take the stage across a wide swath of the US, with appearances slated for Camp Bisco, Summer Meltdown, Arise Music Festival, Imagine Festival, and more. While he will undoubtedly be showcasing music from Jettison Mind Hatch and beyond, one has to wonder what he will possibly cook up next.

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