Led By Ancient Light - KOAN Sound

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the best worldbuilding album you have ever had the honor of laying your eyes (and ears) upon.

I sincerely hope this is the future of music. KOAN Sound are well-known as one of the greatest producer duets in the entire electronic scene; their sound design is clinical, their mixdowns are precise, and their atmospheres are incredible. "Led By Ancient Light" is no different. Although the album is a change in direction for the duo, it's still a potent cocktail of everything that made them stand out so much over the years. Firstly, the sound design is just as impressive as ever the — basses are thick and satisfying, the beats are nifty and the songwriting is phenomenal. Secondly, KOAN Sound manage to transcend bass music like nobody else could ever do, mixing in orchestral and ambient in such a wondrously commanding manner it's difficult to discredit practically anything that they do here. Thirdly, it brings a beautifully crafted storyline against an absolutely mind-boggling atmospheric backdrop, so immersive that if you close your eyes you might just find yourself lost in it — and this is the defining factor that sets it apart from every other album, ever, because there is quite literally no other album that can even think about taking the inherently energetic drum n bass aspects and combining them with more relaxed ambient and orchestral styles (of all genres) to create a cinematic worldbuilding masterpiece, much less actually executing it to the pinpoint perfection that "Led By Ancient Light" can do. Running through a series of movements, from the bass-driven and intense "Voices of Dissent" or "Exigence" to the graceful and even emotive "Kindred Void" or "Solace of the Red Giant", this LP is the full package when it comes to storytelling, reinforced on its hind legs by two 7-minute-long tracks and powered by constant smooth basslines that set the backdrop for the full 13-track runtime.

But despite the amount of praise I have just heaped upon KOAN Sound, I do have one very slight gripe with this project — that is, in most contexts, practically none of the tracks are playable outside the album. "Led By Ancient Light" is an album which requires your full attention and an hour of your time, no exceptions, and that can be a little offputting for casual listening, functioning best when you consider it as one long track rather than 13 different ones. But if you have time to kill, a quiet room, and a pair of good headphones, "Led By Ancient Light" is absolutely an experience worth listening to.