Spectreview: Sal Dulu – Xompulse

Released: February 19, 2020

Electronic
(Ambient)
(Hip-Hop/Rap)

-DARK ORANGE-

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Lately I’ve been eating before bed every night (this is either because I love myself or I hate myself) and it makes me dream so hard that I usually take forever to adjust to reality in the morning. Now if I had better dreams, this wouldn’t be as much of a problem, but my REM conjurings are not nearly as smooth or inviting as the ones comprising Xompulse, the debut record from young Dublin producer Sal Dulu.

Dreams and “liminal spaces” are eternally enticing topics for making art, as is anything that can’t be perfectly explained with language or science. Xompulse, resting right on the line between ambient and electronic, intends to bring you right into that space. Opener “Ariel Visions” sets the stage in its shift from damp, nocturnal streets to subaquatic, polychromatic cave clusters, clearing the way for its other transportive instrumentals. These include the delicate, minimalistic title track, the pressurized cabin of “I Kan” and the bluesy “Just Like Sonenalle Blues,” which crosses the late Harold Budd’s Perhaps with Frank Ocean’s “White”. All of these specific moments, in a sense, recall The Pavilion of Dreams in how it seems set solely on providing a listening space outside consciousness. The term “sleeper hit” rarely feels more apt.

Though the guest features break the spell somewhat, they also easily form the peaks of Xompulse. Fly Anakin, as usual, completely destroys his verse on the Warp-like “Zumo.” Fellow Mutant Academy associate Koncept Jack$on doesn’t get the chance to own the moment like Fly, but his verse is equally spirited on the similarly fragmented “B”. And Atlanta legend staHHr closes the record with fireworks on “Buzzcut,” her presence infusing a decidedly futuristic record with some golden-era boom-bap vibes. These are all great tracks, but they do create an uneven listen in between the more minimal moments. Then again I can’t remember the last time I had an “even” dream, so I’m gonna go with the notion that Sal is onto something here.

Recommended for toast and hummus at 2:00 AM.