From The Cloud To Our Bodies by Serena Butler

Borrowing the name of a fictional character from the Legends of Dune trilogy of novels, Serena Butler stormed onto the music scene a year ago with the sublime Gynoids Dryads Swim Alone EP, creating an air of mystery and intrigue along the way (you may remember that Butler is neither male or female but instead a "gender-fluid digital ghost, residing inside a non-binary male human host", who produces music on the basis that gender should have no bearing on its appreciation).

New EP From The Cloud To Our Bodies, explores familiar facets of Techno and Ambient, soft beats, dub and subtle melody. Opening track Your Past. Your Future. Your Very Light begins with the tranquil cooing of doves before the sound morphs and spreads skywards, endorphins soaring, wings spread wide, beautiful Techno. Brane New World, Thas Has Such Creatures In It maintains the uplifting vibe with a fuggy wander around a busy city. Field recordings from Istanbul consolidate this notion while a steady bass drum, kicking low in the mix, hints at a distant party, your destination perhaps? A Place Where Souls May Mend Your Ailing Mind is a dubby period of introspection and, as the title suggests, a brief respite from life where glitches mesh with soft beats. And like real life, where things can switch from good to bad in an instant, closing track Where Fire Resideth, Shadows Twist and Shrivel turns the mood dark. Imaginary demons form like demented ghosts, howling a modern classical recital. A nightmare end.

To coincide with the release, Butler launches a brand new label called Bene Tleilax (another Legends of Dune reference) along with friends Linda, Sofia and Linda Z. This inaugural EP heralds a series of planned releases based on themes like artificial intelligence, usurped humanity and gender politics.

• Rating: 9/10
• Listens: 18
• Highlight: Your Past. Your Future. Your Very Light
• Label: Bene Tleilax
• Release Date: 29th September, 2017