Navar - Bloom (2024)

Returning to Meanwhile, Navar's career now blossoms with a debut full-length album in the shape of "Bloom". Eelko Wijnia's contribution to the world of underground electronic music is hard to overstate. Through his Navar production moniker, the Dutch artist has been at the vanguard of the progressive house scene for 15 years with occasional forays in the deep and tech house, techno and electronica. Able to turn his production skills to a raft of genres and styles, it is no surprise to see Navar's debut full-length album representing a kaleidoscopic range of music. Already celebrating more than 150 production credits across such esteemed labels as Eelke Kleijn's Outside The Box, Guy J's Lost & Found and Hernan Cattaneo's Sudbeat Music, Navar's presence on Meanwhile has been equally impressive. A remix of fellow countryman, Alex O'Rion, opened his account in early-2022 before the 3-track "Return of the Sun" EP took centre stage towards the end of the year. A single Meanwhile appearance in 2023 saw a remix of Jamie Stevens future classic "Circles", before 2024 witnessed another original gem through "Zoom Out", in collaboration with Golan Zocher. Now returning with a debut full-length album, Navar's "Bloom" is a true magnus opus in every sense of the term. 15 extended tracks weave a rich and detailed story across a magical 90 minutes. From the atmospheric opening of "A 1000 Times" and its subsequent powerhouse breakbeat rhythms, to a quintet of luscious electronica gems, the first half of the album gently coruscates through a selection of largely beatless arrangements with the melancholy phrasing of "Glow's" and rippling delayed synths of "The Time We Have" blending easily with the gentle piano and plucked strings of "No Other Remedy" and the beautiful uplifting mood of "Verbena". Evolving easily into the shimmering percussive groove and huge bassline of the sultry "That Summer Night", Navar begins to move into more traditional progressive house territory with the heavy beat of "Paradise Lost". The huge pulsating bass sequence of "All Around Us" provides a floor-filler of the highest order while "A Moment in the Mirror" builds from a beatless and spine-tingling 3-minute opening to driving club-friendly powerhouse in the second half. With a wonderfully atmospheric narrative flooding the latter stages, driving rhythmic energy and iridescent trance stabs underpin "Heliopause" alongside the vibrancy of "Seeing You Again" while an "Airdrawndagger" vibe from Sasha's seminal work pervades the delayed synths of "Staying in Bloom". Reaching a powerful and commanding finale, huge sub-bassline grooves permeate "Late Blooming Flowers" and "Interference", providing a dark energy and masterful production technique. Evergreen after 15 years of electronic music mastery, Navar is still in full "Bloom" with a debut album of the highest order. Directed by GMJ & Matter Mastered by Cid Inc. Design by Matter Text by James Warren