Andhim – Toy Toy EP

We can’t travel too much physically right now, but music will always transport us. Places, planets, parts of the mind no other stimulus can reach. It’s something andhim have made their signature, especially with their recent award winning road movie Miles To Go. The dust still not settled on their air miles, now the duo take us on another tour. South Korea and Japan. Savouring and documenting every moment, ‘Toy Toy’ is their musical translation of the trip.

A six track story of countless chapters, each cut weaving the spirit of the cities and their own influences deep into the mix. The title track takes the lead. A bubbling fantastical piece with strong shades of electro funk and acid house weaved deep in the blend, it sets off – like all tours should – on the happiest note possible.

Deeper into the release we strike downtown neon gold on the sweeping synths and foreboding bassline of ‘In Tokyo’ and the melancholy Blade Runner blues of ‘Japan 82’. Elsewhere ‘Brabazon’ takes a higher flight. Bewilderingly feel-good, sublime waves of thick, woozy synth funk reach euphoric heights in the dreamiest way possible before ‘Acidman’ brings us crashing back to reality with a jolt of cold hard electro sincerity. A crisp trip of a tune, the layers of musicality whip up momentum that ultimately leads us to the poignant, soft-focus finale of ‘Bronte Bye Bye’. The solemn, sober yin to the raging yang the tour once began with, we’re brought home in one piece… Even though we never left the room. Anzen’na ryokō!