One of the most unique and ambitious projects to come out this year, ‘BORDERING PRACTICE’ marries three labels from different countries that are each bringing one talented producer to the table. The resulting release is a trio of songs that forge new, international sonic territory. Helping create the project on the Japan end is the essential Maltine Records and the versatile producer PARKGOLF. Together with similarobjects from the BuwanBuwan Collective out of The Philippines and Mantra Vutura of the Indonesian Double Deer Records, the three-song ‘BORDERING PRACTICE was born. All three musicians worked on each track together in the Double Deer studio in Indonesia earlier this year.
While PARKGOLF has never been a producer who’s only worked in the confines of one sound, his biggest contribution to ‘BORDERING PRACTICE’, ‘LEAP’, treads more into IDM and ambient territory than we’re used to. All three songs here actually have an ambient edge to them and are definitely made more for home and headphone listening than the club or gym. Mantra Vutura’s beautiful ‘Midnight’ spends half its runtime as an ambient journey through the nighttime skies before touching down to a more house-type beat. The similarobjects spearheaded ‘Plotinus’ is the most chaotic track in the bunch. It too touches on IDM but with lots of beautiful grand piano keys, organic drum instrumentation, and enough ambient reverb to choke and elephant.
Maltine Records has worked with a number of Western producers before, including Porter Robinson among others. However, the ‘BORDERING PRACTICE’ project is the first giant collaborative project I’ve seen come from this label that’s tapped into musicians from Southeast Asian Countries. I’m so impressed with the results too that now I feel bad for never trying to discover for myself what sounds are coming from places like Indonesia and the Philippines. I’m hoping to hear more pristine, uniting madness like this again soon.
‘BORDERING PRACTICE’ is available now.