Bot1500
The Black Sea
Short Span
Of course there’s a new Bot1500 record on Short Span. From a curatorial standpoint, the upstart UK outpost—which is already home to stellar releases from artists like Yu Su, K Wata and Mammo—is basically running laps around the rest of field, so it’s not a surprise to see another cult favorite being added to the roster. Back in 2021 and 2022, the Japanese producer made a couple of appearances on AD93 offshoot Lith Dolina, and while none of that material—which included the fantastic Surreal LP—was dropped into the world with much fanfare, those who did hear it couldn’t help but be charmed by his talent for ambient-flavored IDM.
Since then, Bot1500 has maintained a relatively low profile, but he hasn’t stayed silent. On the contrary, he’s loaded up his Bandcamp page with approximately 30 self-released singles and EPs, most of which went completely unnoticed by the press—First Floor included. Short Span, however, was clearly paying attention, and at some point commissioned The Black Sea, an eight-track effort that’s not only the most substantial Bot1500 effort since Surreal, but a gorgeous and downright balletic record.
Although nearly every song sits at 140 bpm, The Black Sea is not an exercise in bassweight and soundsystem dynamics. The music is delicate, and actually quite minimal, its abundance of white space encouraging listeners to meditate on even the smallest melodic ripple. The less chaotic work of artists like Aphex Twin and Plaid comes to mind, though Bot1500’s compositions do feel uniquely elegant, whether he’s stringing together plinky pulses on “Shadows” or unspooling some piano-flecked glitch on “XB 2.” Gentle melodic flutters are another constant, and highlight both the graceful ambient of “Sails” and the steadily shuffling, but not-quite-house cut “XB 1.”
Funnily enough, the album’s most robust drums belong to the only song on the record that clocks in at a different tempo. Set at 120 bpm, “White Flocks” employs sharp, almost marching band-style snares, but the track itself is unmistakably pensive, its warbling melodies gliding along like a soft sea breeze. As the album’s title implies, Bot1500 is keenly interested in the ocean, and though he describes it in the official promo blurb as a place “where unease and beauty coexist,” the music he’s made is so exquisite, and so subtle, that most listeners will be delighted to drift along in the currents he’s constructed.