Ingenious Greek composer Christos Chondropoulos coins his 2nd suite of imaginative folk arcana and electronic atavism on Glasgow’s 12th Isle after 2020’s standout ‘On Nature’.

Once again Christos Chondropoulos warps timelines of ancient Greek culture, itself a syncretic amalgam of myriad archetypes that were once part of its sprawling empire, to create an amazing, maze-like album of possessive melodies and finely disciplined grooves guided by uchronic logic and his background in avant-garde percussion performance. The results could be called new age, in a sense that applies to much of 12th Isle’s roster, but there’s also something devilishly uncanny, unheimlich about his music that buzzes our tiny minds like few others around right now, drawing impressionistic lines between early computer techno monks, aching Rebetika, and much, much older middle eastern and Eurasian scales. Central to the music’s appeal is its execution of folksy purpose, as in it’s made for dancing and merriment and likely to induce altered states of mind like some modern Gurdjieff or time-travelling bard, regaling semi-apocryphal tales revolving themes of maternal love and “robotic societies in post-human harmony.” New to this release and his sound is the inclusion of Sofia Sarri, whose Greek language vocals reward listeners in six uniquely penetrating acapella phrases woven into the album’s absorbant fabric.