Hasta La Ideas

Canadian musician ATTLAS (aka Jeff Hartford) has released his debut album, Lavender God, after years of one-off tunes. Out via Mau5trap (a label run by Deadmau5), the album features tracks that highlight Hartford’s talent as a producer and multi-instrumentalist—piano, trumpet, electronic keys (all influenced by a stint as an intern with a classical composer). “More Than That” is an acid jazz performance entangled with starry synth arrangements and bellowing notes that give way to live drum rolls and brushes. Hartford’s freestyling continues until the instrumental crescendoes into a euphoric house track that’s akin to the rest of the album. But then it teeters off again into a vast, repeating roar contrasted by recordings reminiscent of nighttime Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario (where Hartford spent long nights conceptualize the 10-track release).