London-based composer and producer Balthazar Mattar enthralls with an atmospheric electronic sound on debut solo album, Fingerprints. Themes of isolation and identity are explored artfully within inventive electronic soundscapes that range from effervescent to haunting. From the otherworldly opener “Starry Stripy Dreams” to the ethereal “Whisper a Love Song,” Mattar blends textured synths, fragmented vocals, and introspective moods into a compelling portrait of existence in a digitally fractured world.
“Starry Stripy Dreams” kicks the album into gear with a spacey intrigue, as twinkling synths meld with steady rhythmic pulses and a deep vocal emergence. Bass-y ruminations compel at the two-minute turn; the effervescent synth radiance continues, though now with an eerier vocal disposition and bass-touched ardor exudes a more haunting quality. The track’s woozy, otherworldly production quickly showcases a sound steeped in deep atmospheric appeal, stirringly evident throughout the album.
The ensuing “Forgotten Names” also achieves a consuming balance of hazy key-laden glimmering and nocturnal electronic flair — specifically in sporadic synth buzzing and bouncy percussive elements, invoking a late-night industrial grip. Meanwhile, “I Hear the Cows in Heaven” embraces a lusher entrancement in its weaving of spoken-word vocal sensations with synth work that ranges from dreamily enticing to ascending intensity, the latter of which resembles the audible accompaniment to a whirring, neon-lit carousel.
A riveting standout, “Whisper a Love Song” reminds fondly of Susumu Yokota in its pulsating synth ethereality and mellow piano-tinged undercurrent. The “sing a lullaby” vocal allure moves seamlessly from spacious blissfulness into pit-pattering rhythmic envelopments, and then a spine-tingling, multi-layered vocal refrain as the track’s mid-point approaches. “Drive Horizon” comes next, also straddling enchanting lullaby and outer-space foreboding in its blend of glistening synths and chilly vocal momentum.
Another memorable production, “Irogenous” unveils a darkly intoxicating spell in its vocal maneuvering from conversational stream-of-conscious feelings to ominous “sun is burning” croons; the accompanying synths resemble something fit for autumn’s peak, as dead leaves clutter the ground, while stutter-y backing effects bolster with a uniquely infectious charm. Amongst the album’s briskest efforts arrives next in “Pop Pop,” where clamoring synths and rhythmic reflections appeal immediately. A lyrical reference to “the crushing sense of nothing” alludes to existentialist thought when pondering one’s existence; the track achieves in both a thematic and atmospheric hold.
Album finale “Paper Aeroplanes” emits a dreamy, reflective quality with a symphonic-like fluttering in its fantasy-like conclusion — where chiming piano and flourishes of strings combine with lingering elegance. The preceding journey, from subdued piano to bursting ambient personality, fully engages as well. Full of immersive soundscapes and moody structural developments, Fingerprints is a thoroughly memorable success from Balthazar Mattar.
