When Austrian producer Oliver Johnson goes to work, you're guaranteed some superlative sounds to come out the other end. His 2005 debut When Planets Explode showed off his beatmaking abilities and nose for astrofunk, but Joined Ends is a more lush, nuanced and calmer affair. Johnson has a canny talent for tracing lines in and around tracks to house a whole bevy of influences, but he still allows the tune to freely exist in its own orbit. Mint and Tried (Now Tired) have their flow neatly tracked with brilliant textures, unflamboyant markings and very subtle passages which are as much about creating space as embellishing grooves.

It’s a finely crafted album and bodes well for Johnson’s future progress, be it more minimally pitched fare or work for soundtracks or scores. dorianconcept.com