Mesak— “Alpha Will”

It’s four years since Finnish producer Mesak released a solo album, and his return to the Harmönia label with howto readme on November 3 seems to be evidence of time well spent. Lead track “Alpha Will” starts like a cartoonish sibling of the soundtrack to The Shining, with suspended string drones wheezing above fidgety glitches. A no-nonsense squelching groove edges in over the backdrop, lending a gritty physicality to the eccentric sound-world.

Listening to the track alone is unnerving, but to take it in with the accompanying video by Poborsk (aka Patrice Curtillat) is even more disorientating. The viewer is dragged down a video game runway, encountering floating piggy banks and all manner of rotating polygons in pursuit of a omniscient 8 ball, all in just over three minutes.