The Kraken Quartet – Separate | Migrate (2017)

Percussive instruments are thought to be of the first kind of instruments made by humanity, spanning civilizations the world over. Maybe because of the instruments’ ostensible simplicity, we often find rhythmic, percussion-based music to be the most primal. The Kraken Quartet, four percussionists playing (nearly) two full drum kits, a marimba, vibraphone, bells, synthesizers, and all sorts of miscellaneous hittables, work to elevate the idea of percussion into layered, multirhythmic compositions that wind and traverse deeply instinctive grooves and cinematic crescendos. Led melodically by mallet instruments and electronics, the tracks on Separate | Migrate have a dreamlike quality that gives the entire experience the sensation of being carried from minimalist ambience through gripping syncopated beats. Each song is an exploration of soundscape and mood, like Brian Eno, but through percussion, so way, way more fun.