Jackson Fester, aka Cousin, follows a string of sought after releases, mainly on his own Moonshoe Records, but we also loved the last one on Well Street, with an E.P. for Mood Hut. The five classy cuts are as equally at home on the dancefloor or in your headphones. Providing a wonderfully warm, hypnotic aural hug. It’s exactly the sort of music that I’ve come to associate with the Vancouver-based label. A sometimes racing divergent dub techno, where the rhythms have been reduced to whispers, rippling rivers of echoed sound, while synths swell, and sing, sigh, soft romantic melodies. 

Rocked and shocked by sub-bass explosions, 3 x a charm has a kind of deconstructed drum & bass swing. Muster’s shuffling syncopation flirts with jazz. A muffled, mutated, Latin, Cuban rumba, that recalls some of Masters At Work’s more outthere moments, such as Thru The Skies, or The Nervous Track, but run far, far further through the reverb ringer. Catsu is kinda “ambient house”, where rapid blinking bleeps counter New York garage flavoured keys. More Pal Joey remixing The Orb, than the playful flotation tank prankstering of The Orb themselves. Blissed out and with its beat all but removed. Overpass slowly evolves from a gentle, percussive trickling and tapping into a euphoric floor-filling epic. A long, soulful Loft, or Joe Clausell-like, trip. 

Everything is sonically super sophisticated. You can forget about obvious hooks. It’s all about the quality production and vibe. This is a music where all the detail has been boiled down, distilled, not removed, but muted, and ethereal, woven throughout the mix. There’s a whole lot going on beneath the surface. The beats are busy, but you can choose to dance or chill.  

Cousin’s HomeSoon is out now, on Mood Hut. Also check out his dope dub of a.s.o.