Madison producer Chants has been quietly killing it all decade long, with some truly excellent and challenging releases such as I Feel Like I Feel It and We Are All Underwater, just to name a couple. For his last run of releases, he’s been working with Los Angeles label Astral Plane Recordings, including his most recent of a couple of EPs in 2017 and 2018. Now he comes back with his first full-length album since 2015, Seven Spheres.

If you’re not familiar with Chants, Seven Spheres is an excellent place to start, because you get a really well-rounded look at all the things that make him special. First, Chants is a drummer by trade, with roots in jazz and New Orleans brass bands, and that knowledge and skillset have always been on display in his work, and they are readily apparent here on Seven Spheres. Second, Chants has always been interested in the cross-pollination between genres, and as a result, his music has always lived in between genres like jazz, R&B, hip hop, house, EDM, and experimental electronic music, just to name a few. When you put this all together, what it means is that when you press play on Seven Spheres, you’re in for a wild ride. There will be moments where the bass is really thumping and the dance rhythms will get your body moving, only to shift into some intricate snare work as Chants brings in his drumline experience, only to shift over at another point into some cool jazz or free jazz, opening up the grooves and giving the album a lot of space and unpredictable melodies. What really makes the album work, though, is that Chants sees the throughline between all of these musical styles, and he’s able to transition in some unexpected ways that work really well. Everything flows naturally, but never predictably. You just gotta hand over the keys to Chants and let him do the driving.

It’s been a minute since we got a project as ambitious as this one from Chants, and he certainly made this one count. Seven Spheres is a wild ride, full of all sorts of unexpected twists and turns. It’s a challenging listen, but it also remains fun and accessible at the same time.