TwoDaystoAlaska is not a well-known name, in large part because the producer has not made a lot of information available to the public. However, the producer originally from the UK, now residing in Berlin, has contributed to a few Cult Classic compilations over the years. Now, seven years after this debut album was first hinted at, we finally get the self-titled album.

TwoDaystoAlaska might have taken the long way to get here, but the good news is that now that their debut album is finally here, it’s a very mature-sounding album. That is to say that by taking this time, we’ve gotten past a lot of the learning curves that you might expect from a debut instrumental album. The overall tone of the album is downtempo, with moments of house and boom bap thrown in to give the proceedings just enough variety to keep things from getting monotonous. Most importantly, though, TwoDaystoAlaska has really put in the work to make these beautifully developed instrumental compositions that have really memorable melodies and build and twist and turn and keep you on your toes the whole time you’re listening to the album. It’s the difference between a pleasant downtempo album that you’ll immediately forget about in a few minutes, and one that takes you on a journey and doesn’t just go through the motions but actually builds a lot of different moments that convey different emotions. He does so by using a mix of live instrumentation and samples, and treating both approaches with a great amount of care and respect.

TwoDaystoAlaska is not a known name yet, but it will be. It may have been a long journey to get to this debut album, but the payoff is in the music. It’s beautiful, passionate, thoughtful, and presents a distinct style that he can easily build upon as he continues to make music. Let’s just hope we don’t have to wait another seven years to get the next one.