With Love

Japanese pressing. Since issuing a clutch of 12s in the late-noughties and the 2008 release of his debut album Where Were U in 92? - a rave-homage made using equipment from the period - Zomby has consistently proven himself to be a unique presence in an increasingly cluttered field. Following the success of his debut, it took him three long, thoughtful years to next break cover, this time with an altogether different record. Dedication (2011) was an after-hours meditation on mortality, weighed down with an audible sadness, and it was abundantly clear why he had taken time out. Not only did it deliver an unexpected twist, it's surprisingly human qualities also offered a rare, candid glimpse of an artist who prefers anonymity and little fanfare. The response was unanimous - he had written a modern masterpiece: A mind-blowing record and one that will stand the test of time DJ (9/10); Downbeat and terrifically eerie the Observer (4/5); The scary thing is (that) he's anywhere near peaked FACT (4.5/5). An accompanying seven-track EP (Nothing) followed six months later, acting both as an encore bow and cue to retreat back to the shadows. With Love is Zomby's third album. An astonishing 33 tracks that collectively trace an arc through dance music's history, revealing an artist in his most creative phase yet. Divided in to two volumes that move invariably between a dancefloor focus and darkened emotional introspection, with Love is the work of a producer who has absorbed the shifting textures and plains of electronic music first hand, and reconfigured them into a definitive, sprawling love letter to the soulful dance music of his past.