Luke Vibert

Dropping his many pseudonyms (among them Plug and Wagon Christ), Luke Vibert delivers some of his most delicious Downtempo grooves. As a sound painter, Vibert overlays muted, earth-toned backgrounds with splashes of brilliant color. His tracks flow with effortless ease, providing an ideal late-night urban soundtrack: vibrant, atmospheric, and whimsical. Passages from instructional videos about studio recording kick off samples of acoustic drum breaks and washes of orchestral ambiance. Reverberating vibraphone melodies add a futuristic Lounge flavor, while basslines enter without warning, providing forward movement without becoming insistent or abrasive. Other tracks progress from twisted Funk guitar licks and throbbing pedal-point bass to frog-voiced hip-hop vocal samples, jazzy basslines, and cinematic ambiance. Vibert's combination of propulsive beats and lush textures hits the brain like a mug full of green tea: it relaxes the body while making the mind more alert and sensitive. This music would fit equally well into a late-night rap session, a studying marathon, or an early-morning, post-party comedown.