Mius - Twentytwo 22 (2018)

Album specialist Mïus is back with another absorbing full length in April 2018. Entitled Twenty-two 22, the ten-track affair again shows off his unique knack for mixing live playing skills with electronic production. To mark the launch, Mïus will head out on an album tour with dates in the Czech Republic, Germany and Hungary in April.

This album follows three previous efforts including the mini-album Lost Adam in late 2017, and Eigengrau in 2016 on Sonar Kollektiv. It comes after years of the Hungarian artist born Gergely Álmos playing live around the world and is another artistic development that has many emotional highs and lows.

For this album, Álmos collaborated with singers Dóri Hegyi, Raf Skowronski and Zolo, and recorded it over the course of a year-long process where he invited musicians to join sessions in London, Budapest and Szeged. The title, Twentytwo 22, refers to 22:22 shown by the digital clock which, says the artist, “seems associated with special feelings, like a frozen moment in infinity. In one word: singularity.” The artwork is made by Csaba Világosi and refers to the singular curve.

The excellent ‘So Rotten So Sweet’ (ft Dori Hegyi) kicks things off with a chilly autumnal hymn that features angelic vocals drifting above sombre chords and gently swaying beats.

The bristling ‘Aureola’ is a symphony of dramatic synths that have you in raptures, and next up ‘Heavy Heart’ resets the mood with more pained vocals and tortured synths unfolding in gentler fashion.

The delicate piano keys and heartfelt vocals of ‘Colours (ft Dori Hegyi)’ eventually get transformed by taught, pinging kick drums that get you up on your toes. Proving he knows how to cook up raw melodic beauty, ‘Mont’ is an uplifting track that shimmers with synth craft. Lead single ‘Torso’ is another enthralling fusion of live music and electronic groove, while ‘Galatea’ builds intensity with electric synths layered up over big drums as wordless vocals add epic emotion. Things play out with the inventive indie-tronica of ‘Dust' (ft. Raf Skowronski) and frosty charms of ‘Archaeologist' (ft Dori Hegyi), then close with ‘Hunters In The Storm’, a sweeping arrangement of modulated synths, broad, sweeping chords and live drums.

This album takes you on a very real ride, with intense highs and dramatic lows that speak to the rare production and composition skills of the multi-talented artist behind it.