Darone Sassounian - Synthetic Instincts LP BUY LINK: https://rockyhill.bandcamp.com/music Label: Rocky Hill Records (https://www.rockyhillrecords.us) https://www.instagram.com/rockyhillrecords/ > Darone Sassounian (https://soundcloud.com/daronesassounian) https://www.instagram.com/rockyhillrecords/ Darone Sassounian hails from Los Angeles, where he heads up the Rocky Hill label. He has a wide range of styles in his arsenal and takes inspiration from music made in the 70’s and 80’s as well as disco, soul, jazz, international obscurities and vintage house. In 2021, he released the highly acclaimed compilation ‘Silk Road: Journey of the Armenian Diaspora: 1971 - 1982’ on Terrestrial Funk, which got support from the likes of Gilles Peterson, Danilo Plessow and Palms Trax. His own famously raw productions come on Rocky Hill while he holds down a monthly residency at the Los Angeles venue, Club Tee Gee and has a radio residency at Los Angeles’s highly acclaimed Dublab. His debut album, ‘Synthetic Instincts’ doesn't hide from reality. It’s a full-length journey that grows ever more thought-provoking and revealing the longer you listen. It takes from the world’s political landscape, loss of life and native land and the trajectory humanity is walking towards while offering a sense of hope that the future may hold brighter days. It is an album of forward motion with a touch of history designed to move listeners, whether physically, mentally, or emotionally. 'St Vincent’s Alley' opens up with deft, Detroit-style deep house that is backlit by pensive chords. 'Good Morning' is perfectly smoky and atmospheric and the wonderful 'Clementine's Absentia' then comes on as a soul-lifting introduction to the full-length record that is sure to please the dance floor. 'Habibi Albi' is another masterclass in evocative synth work and perfectly reduced deep house drums that speak to your heart, and 'Synthetic Instincts' ups the ante with more bump in the drums, but the painterly synths still whirl with heady effect up top. 'Twisted Remedies' is lo-fi but high-quality house with dubby undercurrents, scuffed kicks and muffled spoken words, all infusing the atmosphere with late-night intrigue. 'Drought' adds a little tension with the detuned chord riffs and raw percussive edge to the drums, and 'No Man’s Land' closes in epic fashion over ten immersive minutes of dreamy deep house with wispy pads drifting in and out of focus and contouring nostalgic thoughts.