Office Listening: Jon Hopkins ‘Immunity’

Image: Jon Hopkins

It’s a competitive arena, the Skiddle HQ stereo. A diverse set of musical tastes with one or two outspoken figures means the wrong selection can have pretty dire consequences, including vocal disapproval, out and out castigation and in one pretty harrowing incident a funny but cruel sabotage of the offender’s lunch.

So when an album gets round approval from nigh on everyone in the office, it’s worth throwing some love. Particularly when it’s an accolade mirrored by the Mercury Music bods, who we assume don’t involve the same kind of aggressive policy in their judgement that takes place in our dog eat dog office. Jon Hopkins’ Immunity (stream on Spotify at the top) falls into this category, a delightfully dynamic collection of techno and electronica that has had widespread approval from these ends.

We’re split on our favourite track, but the crushing beats of ‘Open Signal’ (watch below) and the spiralling synths of ‘Sun Harmonics’ are probably the front-runners for an album which powers relentlessly from the beginning before easing off at the end. We’ve been fans of some of his earlier work and the collaborations with Brain Eno and Coldplay, but this is definitely our favourite so far and cohesive from start to finish.  

Hopkins has been quoted as saying that the opus was recorded with the live performance of it very much the focus, which is exactly what he will do on Tuesday 24^th September with an Audio Visual performance for Now Wave at Manchester’s Gorilla. His recent delving into the visual side of things has been another successful measure of a hugely creative individual, and for a bit of midweek electronic exploration you’d be hard pressed to find better options (particularly as the equally excellent Lone supports). And best of all, nobody’s crisps got destroyed.

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