SickElixir

Jamie Roberts’ second album as Blawan arrives seven years after the techno workouts of *Wet Will Always Dry*, and after 15 years of establishing himself as one of the most forward-thinking and constantly surprising producers in electronic music. His sound has taken multiple twists and turns since boundary-breaking singles like “Getting Me Down” and “Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage,” and *SickElixir* indeed continues to push his gnarly sound into new and thrilling territory while drawing from personal loss and trauma. “I wrote this record at one of the toughest periods of my life,” Roberts tells Apple Music, explaining that he lost four friends from substance overdoses before making the decision to get sober himself. “This decade-long trip to get clean—losing friends, having family trauma and massive upheavals in my life—led me to write music like this. It was a gift to able to get my life in order.” At first glance, this record might seem intimidating to the uninitiated, at times sounding like a washing machine crammed with dynamite. But as Roberts explains it, the intensity of *SickElixir* is meant to be inviting, as well as a reshaping of what aggression signifies in music. “One of the main things I try to put across is that aggressive music doesn’t come from an evil place,” he says. “It comes from somewhere far more deeper than that.” Indeed, amidst the harshness, *SickElixir* possesses a sneakily catchy grooviness, as bursts of high-pitched melody are emitted like steam around Roberts’ constructions. The end result is a sonic potion that just feels good going down, even as it leaves a mark.

Gnarled grooves and unintelligible vocals intersect at uncanny angles on the British producer’s new album, which amplifies his pugnacious style into a brutish, unhinged gestalt.

Jamie Roberts’ unsettling take on bass music is crammed with glitchy rhythms and jolting sounds. It’s as disorienting as it is immersive