Xela For Frosty Mornings and Summer Nights

• Words: Mike Battaglia
• Label: Neo Ouija

John Xela does it up right for us old farts-chilled, melodic, complex IDM, as intricately detailed as later Autechre, but with infinitely more groove and soul. Coming in somewhere between Bola and Boards of Canada, Xela's debut for Metamatics's prolific imprint teems with spatial effects, textured sounds and emotional atmospheres ranging from icy ambience to warm headnodders with funky and heady beats that would probably sound great with a mushroom smoothie. While a few tracks are less than stellar, the majority of the album is an invigorating, if not uplifting, listen. Jaded ex-raver chillout-room fans, you will love this.