Highly experienced and heavily decorated British artist Daniel Avery returned to Phantasy Sound this month for the release of his fifth career solo album. Titled ‘Ultra Truth’, the project boasts a generous 15 tracks in total, and touches on house, breakbeat, downtempo, electro, and DnB. It brings plenty of the visceral and energetic sound Avery has become known for over the years, and features collaborative credits from names like HAAi, Jonnine, SHERELLE, A.K. Paul, Kelly Lee Owens,
and James Massiah. Alongside being the fifth solo album of his career, it’s also his fifth with Phantasy Sound, an imprint owned by Erol Alban which has previously hosted works from TERR, Red Axes, and Gabe Gurnsey. In between the constantly evolving mix of genres that flows through the record, there’s a raw and emotional edge that holds everything together. One that’s technically fine tuned to near perfection in terms of the clarity of the mix, and aided by sharp, metallic synth melodies and chilling pad work. The drum work stands out on most of the tracks, but not all, with ‘Ultra Truth’, ‘Devotion’, ‘Chaos Energy’ and ‘Lone Swordsman’ being the high points on that front. Despite a couple of weak points, which are really just down to stuff like ‘The Slow Bullet’ actually being an 80 second foley sample and not a song, it’s still an excellent album which deserves at least one play through.
Where to start:
Wall Of Sleep: Celestial wall of looping vocals, shimmering synth pads, and hammering drum work
Higher: Fast-paced DnB sound with pluck style bell melodies and sustained basslines
Lone Swordsman: Fluid blend of broken drum rhythms and gliding synth resonance
Previous from Daniel Avery:
Song For Alpha LP (2018, Phantasy Sound)
Together In Static LP (2021, Phantasy Sound)
If you like this then check out:
Jacques Greene – Dawn Chorus LP (2019, LuckyMe)
Rival Consoles – Now Is LP (2022, Erased Tapes)
Daniel Avery – Ultra Truth LP is out now on Phantasy Sound.