Sahy Uhns is a young beat maker from L.A. who has just helped launch Proximal Records, a label devoted to releasing electonic and instrumental hip hop from the area. An Intolerant Disdain of Underlings marks his debut album, released alongside a book of photographs of the California desert that served as inspiration for the music. Using everything from field recordings to synthesizers and custom software on this album, we move from hard-hitting beats that will push your speakers to their limits to moments of quiet repose. It’s a mature debut from an artist that shows a lot of promise.

AIDOU is enjoyable the first time through, but the album is constructed so well, it really takes several listens to understand everything that happens. The main criticism I have of the album is that the melodies could be more memorable, but that is also the toughest challenge in creating music of this ilk. As it is, AIDOU covers a lot of territory. From the opening track, “Montebello Postpartum,” the ambient buzz of crickets and frogs gives way to an opening clap and the beat kicks in, Sahy Uhns demonstrates a great feel for song development. He know when to let a motif ride, and when to add and remove layers. The first song takes the listener on a gentle ride along a midtempo beat with a nice keyboard line, but by the time we get to the third song, “Anticipation Of The Night,” the mood has become frantic and jarring and tense, with the beat pushing forward at times, and at other times coming to a grinding halt while dissonant sounds play against each other. The way Uhns manipulates sounds, it makes me wonder how much conversation is happening between musicians in L.A. and those involved in the Skwee scene happening in Europe. This record dialogues very well with Coco Bryce’s album from earlier this year. The standout track would have to be “13.73±0.12 billion,” a song that begins with a gentle high-pitched melodic line, which builds above complex drum work and dissonant bass lines to travel a wide range of moods over the course of five minutes, only to resolve gently at the end.

An Intolerant Disdain of Underlings is hopefully the beginning of a great career for Sahy Uhns. Creating instrumental hip hop and electronic music is not an easy task, and Sahy Uhns manages to challenge listeners while remaining accessible. A record like this is no fluke.