Amon Tobin 'Out From Out Where' (Ninja Tune)

It’s not too often when an innovative name in leftfield dance music is big in America while remaining virtually unknown on this side of the pond. Amon Tobin is such a rarity. In the States his manic breakbeats and drum n bass rhythms are hugely popular, while the moody cinematic qualities of his music have made the Brazilian an advertisers dream.

It’s actually a bigger mystery as to why he is so popular in the States, for he makes music that is wilfully abstruse and inaccessible. His last DJ set in the UK saw him assault a small crowd with frantic jungle beats and ear piercing samples. They loved it.

His latest album ‘Out From Out Where’ sees him in familiarly delightful uncompromising form. Dark and dirty beats abound such as on the stomping ‘Rosies’ and the outstanding ‘Verbal’, with its lush Latin guitar loop and spliced vocals. Yet Tobin does keep a finger on the musical pulse, as his incorporation of Bollywood samples indicates, though true to form he warps them into sinister and unusual settings.

‘Out From Out Where’ won’t be the wallpaper music at your next dinner party, but Tobin continues to make complex and interesting music that cares little for success, wherever you play it.

words: Colm Larkin

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