Maxime Robin is a French producer who started releasing music under the name of Pix back in 2008, releasing four albums of abstract hip hop before switching over to the name of Laboreal in 2013, marking a shift to a more ambient and downtempo style of music. His latest effort under this name comes to us from The French Touch Connection with an album by the name of Le Carré Bleu.

Le Carré Bleu is an interesting album. On it’s surface, it seems like it should be just another downtempo album, but as you make your way through the tracks, there’s more to it than that. The opening song, “Croquis d’Azur,” uses some shoegaze guitar to provide the chordal structure of the song, and then as the song builds, you start to get these EDM sounds worked in, but in a subtle way that subverts your expectation of some big beat drop. As you continue to work your way through the album, you might encounter a more cinematic and classical influence, such as on “Amuni,” or you might get deep into some dance music, such as on “Cobalt.” Or you might pause on the title track, and not quite have the words to describe the genre-defying track. Like I said, it’s an interesting album. Most importantly, though, Laboreal know how to really build and develop his songs in a way that takes you on an emotional journey, and he can throw in some unexpected twists and turns to keep you on your toes. Also, while he likes to explore different styles of music within this album, he finds a way to connect them all, and keeps a great flow from start to finish.

Le Carré Bleu is a strong album from a veteran producer. He finds a way to both give his audience what they would expect and challenge them at the same time. That’s no easy feat.