Session Victim - low key, low pressure (2023) [Hi-Res]

Session Victim’s 5th studio album Low Key, Low Pressure feels like an anathema to today’s fast paced, industry driven musical landscape – and for all the right reasons. Having released two intense, dancefloor-focused 12“s on Rhythm Section and Delusions Of Grandeur over the past year, their return to Night Time stories brings out their trippy, headsy side once again.

And despite the pandemic downtime being over, Hauke and Matthias remain holed up in the studio, jamming, head nodding to drum breaks and churning out records like the one in front of you.

Spanning 10 tunes – 12 if you count the limited bonus 7“ that comes with the first pressing – the LP is undiluted Session Vic- tim, with their occasional trio partner Carsten “Erobique“ Meyer as the sole musical guest on the library-esque Soft Landing, a tune reminiscent of something the boys would try to hunt down on one of their compulsive record store rummages to feed it to their Akais.

You’ll also find the sequel to one of their cornerstone tracks from their 2020 album Needledrop, Jazzbeat 07. (It’s Jazz Beat 08, in case you were wondering.)

Having acquired a taste for the occasional cover version over the years, the duo closes the album out with their rendition of Instra:mental’s Photograph. Tackling such a classic is a daunt- ing task which they approach in a gentle way, not swaying too far from the original, subtly reimagining the rhythmical foundation and exchanging the distinctive playground sounds from the orig- inal with field recordings of the locals populating the gritty area around their Neukölln studio.

Being long time fans of Swedish organ player Bo Hansson, Hauke and Matthias tried to reach out to the people responsible for his cover artwork - who today are in their late 80ies and have not answered ever since. Things came together in the most fortu- nate way when the pair were introduced to French artist Xavier d’espinay Saint Luc and his enchanting pencil wizardry. The out- standing result is what you’re holding in your hands right now.

But what do you really need to know? This is ‘low key, low pres- sure’. It’s got pristine drum chops to zoom in, hazy melodies to zone out, and all the texture you need to lose yourself in the details.