There’s always been something elemental about PSTMRD’s music. And with his new album ‘Lanzarote’, the Italian producer deepens his fascination with atmosphere and architecture, shaping a record that feels both geological and intimate.
The first glimpse comes in the form of ‘Fullmoon’, a track that glows with quiet intensity. It opens with intricate rhythmic patterns that flicker like coded messages in the dark, before unfolding into shimmering layers of synthesis. There’s a dialogue here between past and present: the cerebral pulse of early experimental electronica meets the warmth of vintage circuitry. The result is a piece that feels suspended outside chronology.
Across the seven compositions on ‘Lanzarote’, PSTMRD leans into the imagery suggested by the album’s title. Inspired by the rugged terrain of the Spanish island, these tracks feel carved from stone and ash. ‘Vulcano’ simmers with subterranean tension, low frequencies rumbling beneath delicate melodic strands. ‘Dune’, featuring the voice of Francesca Bisacchi, introduces a human presence that hovers between fragility and resolve, adding emotional contrast to the record’s instrumental expanses. And the twelve-minute finale ‘Lanzarote’ stretches outward with patience, building from sparse motifs into a widescreen meditation that feels cinematic in scope.
Technically, the album is a testament to PSTMRD’s restless curiosity. Modular systems and tactile controllers become tools of exploration rather than gimmickry. Each tone feels sculpted rather than sequenced, shaped with an ear for precision but also for breath. The mix, handled by Martino Marini and refined in mastering by Joan Arnau Pàmies, preserves that clarity without sacrificing depth.
What makes ‘Lanzarote’ compelling is its balance. PSTMRD has roots in heavier scenes, and that intensity still lingers. This is electronic music as terrain: shifting, textured, and alive. ‘Lanzarote’ is a journey worth taking slowly, step by step, into its molten heart.