Unknown Places LP Hunter/Game & Primal

Hunter/Game re-unite with Icelandic producer Primal as they unveil their collaborative 8-track LP ‘Unknown Places’ on home imprint Just This. The project follows the duo’s expansive and experimental 10-track LP ‘Silence’, released on the label in summer 2019, which welcomed a departure from the Milanese pairing’s previous dancefloor-focused material into a realm to experiment with the use of vocals amongst restrained elements of tension, blissful ambience and distortion – and this vision is explored further here as they combine with Copenhagen-based vocalist Primal once again to deliver the hypnotic and visceral ‘Unknown Places’ to open the New Year.

Opening via the sparse and haunting sonics of the project’s intro, ‘Unknown Places’ reveals a collection of work combining the minimalistic and experimental sounds and textures fans of Hunter/Game and their label have come to know so well, alongside interwoven vocals from Primal to offer a project packed full of twists and turns, guided by expertly crafted soundscapes and exemplified by lead single ‘Servants’. Cuts such as ‘Interlude’ and ‘Paradigm’ edge back towards darker territories, whilst the ever-evolving warping sonics of ‘Black Layers’ offer pockets and trickles of space and rest amongst brooding and driving synth lines that propel the production forward.

Next, ‘Evolve’ welcomes further trademark synth work amongst off-kilter electronics and a raw, commanding core bassline, whilst ‘Things Have Always Been’ sees Primal take centre stage as he delivers further hypnotic vocal work amongst refined percussion arrangements and resonant synth stabs, before closing with ‘Glaciers’ – an emphatic final production harnessing tight sound design, blossoming serene melodies and escalating lead lines to shape up proceedings in epic style.