JON HOPKINS Schallplatten & CDs

Review: At this point in his career, it seems that classically trained pianist come electronica visionary Jon Hopkins can do no wrong. Whether we're thinking of his unmistakable all-time great LP Immunity, or his more recent inward-bound journeys into a trippy serial panacea, Music For Psychedelic Therapy, the musician, in Domino's own words, is an established auteur, capable of casting a whole range of dark sonorous arts perhaps only the most storied audio wizards can cast. His latest record, Ritual, is the latest utterance to escape the Hopkins grimoire; staying true to the adage that a real magician simply does not reveal their secrets, Hopkins is deliberately cryptic about the meaning of Ritual, except for the fact that his music-making process is itself a ritual. Humbly, he insists "I have no idea what I'm doing when I'm composing". Well, from the various sublime, epiphanic, master-warlock's evocations heard across this record, it sure doesn't sound like it!

Review: With Ritual, electronica mastermind Jon Hopkins follows up his storied meditation-aid LP, Music For Psychedelic Therapy, for a return to the sublime uplifts that characterised his establishing sound. Somehow, Hopkins says of his latest full-length, "I have no idea what I'm doing when I'm composing. I don't know where it's coming from, and I don't know where it's going, nor does it seem to matter. I just know when it is finished." Such remarkable humility sits in in stark contrast to the deep grandeur of the record, which refreshingly seems to have been made without overconscious intent; Hopkins' describes his approach to the album as a simple matter of creation, without too much second-guessing or reasoning after the fact. This would seem to counteract Psychedelic Therapy's interest in self-reflection and personal enlightenment; Ritual, as we glean from the title, is more action-oriented, pursuing the many epic pilgrimages and blue beyonds that Hopkins was first known to have embarked upon.

Review: Jon Hopkins' fourth album Immunity is a bona fide classic that is now a full ten years old. To celebrate the milestone, it has been newly remastered for this special reissue. Listening back now reminds you just what a confident and adventurous record this was - a creative trip deep inside Hopkins' mind that brought totters everything he had done and learned up to that point. The focus was firmly on the dancefloor but still, the tracks come with plenty of emotional nuances, from sad piano motifs to stirring choral drones but shifting rhythms and real-world sound effects that brought the whole thing to life.

Review: Much has been made of Jon Hopkins' intentions with his new album Music For Psychedelic Therapy, but whether you're a devoted tripper or a sober psychonaut his new album has plenty to offer. Of course Hopkins has more than proved himself over the years as a phenomenal producer and composer, but here he's replaced his brooding cinematic techscapes for blissful ambience draped in rich overtones and gently drifting patterns of melody and rhythm. It's wholly invigorating and relaxing, clearly designed to soothe the listener in stark contrast to the shock and awe he normally inspires amongst his considerable fan base.

Review: At this stage in his career, Jon Hopkins should be able to do whatever the hell he likes. After proving his synaesthetic abilities throughout the 2010s - with masterpieces like 'Light Through The Veins' and his last album 'Singularity'- it's clear this climactic electronica artist knows no bounds. Now he debuts a new full guided meditation-style LP documenting his ketamine-fulled revelations realised in a remote Ecuadorian cave. Relinquishing beats and drum sounds, this is a fully ambient affair from Hopkins, and routinely features soothing, sampled vocal snippets from the late yogi and guru Baba Ram Daas, as well as collabs with producer and psychedelic ceremony guide East Forest.

Review: Since making a visit to Tayos Caves in Ecuador in 2018, Jon Hopkins has become progressively more interested in the potential of psychedelic therapy, and the ceremonies that accompany psychedelic trips in some cultures. Music For Psychedelic Therapy, his latest album, was partly designed as a soundtrack to such rituals and therapeutic sessions. Musically, it combines elements of ambient, drone and neo-classical, with each of the nine tracks remaining resolutely drum-free. It's an undeniably trippy but meditative affair that strikes a good balance between becalmed bliss and colourful aural intoxication.

Review: Seven years after he gave us the spectacularly beautiful Asleep Versions, Jon Hopkins presents four minimal piano stunners to help us return to those half-awake moments of absolute bliss. The bit before the dark in the back of your eyes turns red and you realise it's going to be another 12 hours or so before you're climbing back into the sack and returning to a place where, let's face it, most of us are pretty happy.

In terms of the music itself, this is Hopkins and therefore you know the score in terms of vision. Opening on the tranquility of 'Heron', which sounds as though it was recorded by a lakeside in southern England complete with wildlife on tape, from here things only get more intoxicating, until the delicate pitter pattered notes of 'Wintergreen' close us out on a subtle but moving air.

Review: Jon Hopkins has released a number of very fine albums over the years, though few quite as good as 2009's Insides. Rooted in his particular brand of atmospheric, melody-driven electronica but more ambitious than anything the producer had previously released, Insides' ten tracks effortlessly combine neo-classical instrumentation and tactile electronic melodies with bold and beautiful nods towards dubstep, '90s trip-hop, vintage IDM, music concrete, grizzly late noughties UK bass, and the shimmering, shoegaze-inspired electronica of Ulrich Schnauss (see the superb 'Light Through The Veins', arguably the album's stand out moment). There are occasional surprising, eyebrow-raising musical moments that switch focus or alter the flow of the album, but they never feel jarring or out of place.

Review: Having taken time out to travel the world and experience new things (including psychedelic substances in California), John Hopkins planned to make Singularity, his ninth album, "a sonic ecosystem that starts and ends on the same note". He soon got frustrated by these limitations, so instead just laid down a fluid and hazy album that combines his usual luscious, ambient electronics with a variety of sparse, heavy and off-kilter rhythms. While undeniably laidback in parts, the album also boasts a number of foreboding techno workouts and uses a wider palette of instrumental sounds than we've come to expect (including some fine strings and his own intricate piano playing). The resultant set is rather impressive, all told, and while not quite a "sonic ecosystem", it's certainly an enjoyable journey.

Review: Having taken time out to travel the world and experience new things (including psychedelic substances in California), John Hopkins planned to make Singularity, his ninth album, "a sonic ecosystem that starts and ends on the same note". He soon got frustrated by these limitations, so instead just laid down a fluid and hazy album that combines his usual luscious, ambient electronics with a variety of sparse, heavy and off-kilter rhythms. While undeniably laidback in parts, the album also boasts a number of foreboding techno workouts and uses a wider palette of instrumental sounds than we've come to expect (including some fine strings and his own intricate piano playing). The resultant set is rather impressive, all told, and while not quite a "sonic ecosystem", it's certainly an enjoyable journey.

Review: Although you're probably into the current wave of ambient that is being released today, one must pay homage to the original innovators of the genre. Jon Hopkins is one such producer; an integral part of the British downtempo wave of the late 90s and early 2000s which has featured other ground-breaking artists like Squarepusher, The Orbital and many more. Opalescent is his debut album from 2001, and this reissue is pressed up by the original Just Music imprint from back in the day. Hopkins' music on here is the sort of stuff to be enjoyed by a any sort of listener; bittersweet electronic soul that touches many different aspects of electronica and IDM. From the placid waves of "Elegaic", to the break-driven balearica of "Private Universe", through to the spectral "Opalescent" itself, and the more industrial tones of "Fading Glow", Jon Hopkins takes the listener through the full cycle, and gives us many different reasons to find this album still as compelling as it was back fifteen years ago.

Review: The Late Night Tales mix series - going strong since way back in 2003 - never ceases to both amaze and please our eardrums when they're in need of a sonic massage. With legendary artists such as Fatboy Slim, Jamiroquai, Groove Armada, MGMT and many others on their roster, you just know it's going to be quality throughout. This time it's up to Domino man Jon Hopkins to give us an outlook onto his own tastes and musical influences. The selection is vast and varied, with everyone from Four Tet to Darkstar and even Peter Broderick featuring within. An incandescent blend of sci-fi electronica, tropical bass nuggets and lighter shades of drone-fuelled house. Quality.