Electronic artist Rabit (Eric Burton) has dropped a new song, "Snow Leopard," off of his forthcoming 2015 debut full-length album, Communion, coming out October 30th via Tri Angle. Listen to "Snow Leopard" below and check out the album's tracklist at the end of this article.
"Snow Leopard" follows the equally detailed yet menacing (and somewhat more bone-rattling) track "Pandemic" that the Houston-based instrumental grime producer shared with the announcement of the album back in August. In "Snow Leopard," the listener is lured in with an almost trance-like melody before the icy, unsettling synths attack.
While Communion is Rabit's first full-length, he has been churning out jarring-yet-danceable alien soundscapes for a few years now. Rabit has been recognized by many for being one of the first American artists to embrace grime, a genre once relegated to UK pirate radio, that has only recently begun to migrate away from its East London home and is often epitomized by Dizzee Rascal; you may remember when the genre did get a somewhat controversial moment in the American pop-culture spotlight when Kanye West invited a number of UK MCs including Skepta onstage with him at the Brits this past winter. Whereas UK grime is often MC-driven, the instrumental grime that Rabit has gotten into is something more atmospheric, however terrifying that atmospheric soundscape may be. Communion follows last winter's 10-minute long Baptizm EP, also via Tri Angle. "Straps," the final track off Baptizm notably garnered support from Bjork, who dropped an Arca remix of the track during a guest DJ appearance with Tri Angle records on Rinse FM in February. You can listen to the original mix of "Straps" in the video below. As Resident Advisor reports, Rabit also recently launched his new label, Halcyon Veil, over the summer.
According to Thump, Communion "promises to be his most politicized work yet, exploring issues like sexuality, gender, ownership of our natural bodies, media manipulation, and social/governmental injustices." Politicized or not, if "Snow Leopard" is any sign of what to expect on Communion, listeners are in for an abrasively raw taste of what electronic music can offer.
Communion Tracklist:
01 "Advent"
02 "Snow Leopard"
03 "Fetal"
04 "Artemis"
05 "Ox"
06 "Flesh Covers the Bone"
07 "Pandemic"
08 "Burnerz"
09 "Glass Harp Interlude"
10 "Black Gates"
11 "Trapped in this Body"
