Artist: ZentaSkai
Title: The Architecture Of The Mind LP
Label: MASK
Cat. #: MSKLP001
Format: Vinyl/Digital
Release Date: 6th October 2023

ZentaSkai unveils stunning, high-concept house album on Mask Records.

ZentaSkai undertook a period of research into the underlying structure and organisation of the human brain before writing ‘The Architecture Of The Mind’. The Berlin-based artist then took what had been learned and kept it in mind when writing the music that marks Mask’s first album release. It comes with extensive background notes on each track, and an operational manual of sorts – notes from the artists as to the effects each piece will have on those who hear them.

“The message conveyed by this album is that life itself is filled with music, but our egos often prevent us from being in harmony with this symphony. Inner chaos and silence can be challenging to bear, leading us to seek solace in external noise. We have constructed a barrier between our inner and outer worlds, causing us to lose touch with the rhythm of harmony. However, by embracing the illusion of separation and dancing to good music, we can rediscover harmony with ourselves and our environment. To fully experience the essence of the album, it should be played loudly on a proper sound system or high-quality headphones. By immersing themselves in the music, individuals can engage with its transformative power and potentially find a deeper connection with their own minds and surroundings.” – ZentaSkai

The gorgeous ‘Mind Mapping’ opens up with deep and dubby drums and lush harmonies that soothe you to your core, ‘030’ then has more raw, heavy drums with many layers of glowing synths, glassy melodies and organic found sounds. ‘Fügung’ keeps the deep and introspective moods coming before the crisp tech of ‘Flow Dreaming’ ups the ante with more drive and layers of vocal whispers, hi-hats and smeared dub chords. Elsewhere the likes of ‘Quiet Reflection’ lean into the groove with swirling pads and one-word vocal sounds drifting through the air over propulsive drum loops, and ‘Boiling Range’ suspends you in deft synth loops amongst the stars over a prickly house beat.

The superb synth craft and well-designed grooves continue through the dusty deep house of ‘Karl-Marx-Allee’ and minimal dub of ‘Dynamic System’ before the elegant melodic techno of ‘Apeiron’ and dreamy synthscapes of ‘Parallel 30’ close the album in a reflective fashion.

This is a deeply evocative album with a fully realised concept that is as thought-provoking as it is immersive.

Tracklist:
01 Mind Mapping
02 030
03 Fügung (feat. Laura Merino)
04 Flow Dreaming
05 Structural Understanding
06 Quiet Reflection
07 Geruda Dub
08 Boiling Range
09 Interlude
10 Karl-Marx-Allee (ZentaSkai & Jeremy Reinhard)
11 Dynamic System (ZentaSkai vs. Palawan)
12 Apeiron (ZentaSkai & Sebastian Klenk)
13 Parallel 30 (ZentaSkai & Apoena feat. Yucuma)