Lehto @ Bandcamp: lehto.bandcamp.com

An intercontinental meeting of minds, 'YVR to LBC' is the first collaborative EP from Emily Sobool aka Socool (Vancouver/Canada) and David Hanke aka Lehto (Luebeck/Germany).

Their mutual love of Downtempo, Ambient and atmospheric Drum’n’Bass has resulted in YVR to LBC, presenting their personal West to East coast take on favorites and influences from past and present.

The opener Late Bloom is a smooth, airy mid-tempo track, with restrained downtempo drums and layered synths. The song evolves throughout the arrangement with a sense of the inevitable, creating a smooth and peaceful listening experience.

On Riptide, Socool lends her ethereal vocals to Lehto’s soulful downtempo production where he merges acoustic and electronic elements. Following the gentle melodies of the instrumental, the lyrics tell a story of conflicting emotions of longing and loyalty, with an uneasy resolution.

Lehto’s 1997 mix of Socool’s Inner Source pays tribute to the mid-90s Vienna school with an impeccable attention to detail and deepness. The slowed down atmospheric jungle aesthetic and slight dub infusions make his mix a wonderful nightdrive soundtrack.

Socool’s remix of Pacifics, the closing track on Lehto’s 2022 released ‘Between All Days’ album, takes what is already a deep, pulsing ambient piece and slows it down further, gives it an additional laconic bassline and leans into the soothing nautical sounds to create a beautiful ultra-float song.