OYSTERBALLADS1 Lawrence Le Doux

In parallel to its club-friendly endeavours, Kalahari Oyster Cult is happy to announce the launch of a new series called Oyster Ballads. As its name suggests, Oyster Ballads will focus on the quieter spectrum of electro-powered semantics, from meditative ambient ballads to escapist downtempo jams. Made of recycled vinyl, each record will come out folded in a beautiful and unique artwork, depicting a singular form of hybridised mineral named 'plastiglomerate' - literally an amalgam of stone and plastic waste gathered by the involved musician and fused together by Japanese eco-artist Sae Honda to form a singular piece of art that doesn't just question notions as waste and upcycling, but aims to more largely invite to reconsider the position of art as a vector for change.

Taking the helm of the series first number, Vlek affiliate and chief experimentalist Lawrence Le Doux punches in with a four-track delight of organic textures and laid-back tempi, taking us for a riveting journey across a zen garden of chimey harmonics and breezy synth oscillations. Blending in wistful Spanish guitar riffs, oblique drum programming and aqueous bass stabs, the slow-moving opener 'Petal' entices us in a realm of vaporous beauty before vegetal riddim 'Anther' has us zoning out into further uncluttered, sub-aquatic dubby domains.

Flip over and 'Stem' will shut your brain off the world's sad reality to a magic formula of sun-dazed organic house, painted lush with textured synth folds, altered vox sampling and jacuzzi-warm, neo-Caribbean flavours - sure to beam your mind up to some idyllic Pacific coast inlet, safe from the big cities' soul-eating daily hassle. Rounding off the package in the most endearing manner, 'Filament' pulls out the slick vibraphonic vibes and ticks all the boxes of your go-to tropical house healer, perfect for these moments when the sun rises above the cerulean skyline and your holiday-numb booty requires a bit of stretchin'n'flexin as you sip on your coconut cocktail, feet firmly anchored in the white sand and the eyes sinking in the deep blue vastness.