Thauma by Big Hands

Big Hands is the UK-based Italian producer Andrea Bonalumi (also known as Andrea Ottomani) who, over the last ten years, has produced such a varied body of work, it's impossible to adequately offer a concise overview in a few words; essentially you'll find raucous Breaks, dishevelled Techno, trippy Bass (think Shackleton) and all shapes of abstract Dub and Jazz. His new album Thauma leans into Fourth World music with the aim of capturing the blurry vibes of a recurring dream (where a Mediterranean storm morphs into something else). With a team of collaborators lending their distinctive sounds to the concept, the result maintains Bonalumi's track record for perpetual invention. Acoustic and downtempo, the ten tracks, peppered with hand drums, bells and chants, are at once mind-bending and soothing. Working with Palestinian sound artist Bint Mbareh certainly lends an appropriately felicitous PR angle but her brace of tracks introduce subtle but fitting elements of her own political art (addressing border dissolution) with vocals. And young sax player Buster Woodruff-Bryant compliments Bonalumi's percussive incantations for further mind-bending excursions. It's quite the trip!