Outlaltuo – Keswick Retreat EP (EP Review)

Today on Music Review World we welcome back the Scottish-born electronic music producer Lewis Bigham, also known as the artist Outlaltuo who had their debut review here with a highly successful evaluation, garnering the ‘outstanding’ review ranking. If you’d like to familiarise yourself with the inception and backstory of Outlaltuo, you can read the review of their previous release here. The release was marked by extreme technical proficiency combined with a desire to be innovative and push the limits of synthesis, resulting in a distinctive form of artistry in its own merit.

In this instance, Outlaltuo has returned with a new EP (extended play) titled ‘Keswick Retreat’. It is an eight-track collection themed around nature and exploration, making several references to the features and history of the Lake District across its runtime. It is stated that it is an electronica and a downtempo record that took three whole months to complete. Moreover, it was created using entirely classic analogue equipment at the studio Neon Math.

The album art is also significant as well, with the sleeve depicting Castlerigg Stone Circle, a megalithic structure two miles outside of Keswick, Cumbria.

The album starts off with a totally different feel from the previous record, being deeper, richer and a bit more sombre in its tone. With technical proficiency, as usual, the production is simply top-notch, melding with the compositional techniques to produce one simplistic aim. It’s like as if Blank and Jones’ atmospheric work was upgraded, simply put.

‘Castlerigg Stone Circle’ opens the album with a comprehensive and dynamic synthscape that is between the state space of chamber orchestral instruments and a pad, with a very existential feel. The attention to detail, even through the use of analogue material for sound design within this album, helps to provide each composition with a very ineffable emotional tone, making it unique and not predictable at all. There’s a lot that one can interpret from the intentional noise, to the waveform transformations, to the arpeggiation; it is a symphony in its own right. The skill used in the previous album is very interesting to witness in the context of this particular album, with it being applied to a different compositional aim and arc. I must say, it is truly compelling.

The track then evolves to a bit of a trip-hop/breakbeat sequence with inspirational chords sandwiched within the soundscape. There’s a lot of aesthetic overlap that could be unpacked as well, with slight Utopian Scholastic vibes musically. The next track, ‘Bluebird Over Coniston’, extends the motif but this time with synthesis that presents itself in a more staccato, ‘dot-like’ function. The slight detuning over the main sequence also adds a lot of depth to it, before descending into a fully atmospheric and ambient sequence that is warm but dark at the same time.

‘Sick & Wrong’ switches it up with a bit more sporadic synthesis. I think this is the strength of Outlaltuo’s works in a weird way, the way he actually layers and orders the tracks is an artist in of itself besides the songs. This track is more reminiscent of the tracks on the previous release, with warm pads giving sporadic and pseudorandom synthesized bits a bit of emotional and holistic depth. This track is truly art, as the elements increase and flourish the track as it goes on, almost like an intended embellishment. It’s definitely a treat for the senses, with some off-putting sounds to provide contrast as well. The EP then moves on to ‘Caught on a Good Day’, once again with a drop-down dotted staccato arpeggiation, which can appeal to people who prefer more cogent melodic lines. The use of delay and slight noise also helps to give it an innocent and nostalgic quality, as the song blooms and encapsulates you with the rest of the segments. It’s a heartwarming and positively tilted track, with vox synthesis added into it. It’s hopeful, it’s magical, but also quite straightforward. I’d say the combination of the two actually makes the track quite fascinating.

The album is not repetitive at all, with ‘Alpaca Eve’ coming in and almost reminding me of a spaced-out, electronica version of some of Angelique Kidjo’s tracks in a dynamic way. The songs build upon each other, taking on the baton of one tiny aspect of the previous track to build upon further. In this instance, I think the childlike, whimsical feel subtly apparent within the previous track gets expanded even further. The same goes to tracks like ‘Keswick Railway Parkrun’, sounding like an Outlaltuo version of Trans-Europe Express mixed with trip-hop sensibilities. It’s dreamy, but also sharp and grounded.

‘Dread God’ then takes us back to the feel of the first track, with a more organ-esque synthesis dominating the sound design of this particular track, with a sombre feel as well. The equipment used also gives it a nostalgic feel, and that elevates the experience of listening to this track, almost as if it were a more whimsical version of Home – Resonance with its own unique edge. It also sounds personal and self-referential through the slight repetition within the track. The EP then ends with ‘Head North’, a truly groundbreaking track that just sticks out with how deep it sounds without being ‘shallow’ in terms of mastering or execution. It’s a bold but rich sound, and it just fits the theme so well. I’d say that this track is also another wonderful track to definitely take note of within this release.

There’s a lot of emotions and sensations packed within this release, and even some aspects of existentialism as well. I think Outlaltuo definitely has a distinct skill and niche when it comes to how he approaches production to the point where each track is almost like a painting in of itself- yes, there’s technical competency, but there’s a depth to it that just stands out that’s not really visible from let’s say, the average artist that submits music here. I think that should be convincing enough to make you check out the release and treat your senses with this wonderful body of work.

SCORE/Outstanding: Outlaltuo shines once again with ‘Keswick Retreat’, a more atmospheric and sombre album compared to the previous release but not lacking in depth, cohesion or fluidity. He applies his distinct skill to create tracks that are ambient in some aspects but also incredibly layered, with many other techniques built in between.

If you liked this, you can keep up with Outlaltuo on Instagram and Bandcamp