Following a couple of EP releases (Backbone, Manfool), Kostas Karamitas (aka Tokyo Mask) delves into something deeper and longer on Hinterlands. This is a pitch-black collection of ambient tracks, consisting of long, eerie drones and moody, esoteric synths.

The rhythms have a subtle dubby elegance, the beats are trippy and occasional, but neither the rhythm or percussion element dominates the album’s sound, whilst melody is substituted by long groaning sound shards, sometimes deriving from slowly grating guitar chords.

The objective of Hinterlands is no doubt to create a powerful soundtrack world, restlessly shifting in perspective throughout, but although carefully put together, little of Hinterlands is truly memorable. Occasionally the crisp beats will stir from their slumber or the minimal bass lines will settle into a prominent groove, but rarely does the impetus build.

Hinterlands is really a sleeping giant; some tracks work well as purely ethereal segments, but an extra component is missing, as too often these languid, echoey tracks become dry and repetitively sanitary.