Debut full-length album from Outlaltuo

UK-based electronic music producer Lewis Bigham has long been a prolific experimenter and a creator chasing sound to its most abstract edges. First operating under the moniker Glassmasterer from 2016, he spent years earning a reputation as one of the more intriguing figures within the UK’s underground electronic scene. But now, Lewis has taken an exciting step into a new creative chapter through his latest project, Outlaltuo.

Using the new artistic banner to represent that transformation, it’s a name that signals a departure from the familiar and an immersion into the avant-garde. From his base in the Peak District, Lewis has been forging a sound that simmers between order and entropy, digital context and warmer analogue aesthetic. Outlaltuo is the vehicle for his new foray into the musical unknown, arriving this year as a project that exists in the margins of genre, filtering experimental electronica, IDM and ambient distortion into something entirely new.

On stage, he’s become a fixture in the UK’s underground circuit, performing immersive, hardware-driven sets that flicker between meditative texture and rhythmic disarray with each show feeling more like a meeting point for art, machinery and creativity. Capturing his sound in the studio, he unveiled the Outlaltuo project at the start of this year with his eponymous debut EP. Now he brings us the fullest expression of his output as Outlaltuo with his debut full-length record titled Ibe Thru Epetron.

Initially released in May exclusively through Bandcamp and now shared more widely on streaming platforms, the record is an emphatic statement of artistic intent, delivering an epic ten-track voyage through his highly original musical world. Drawing heavily from the legacy of IDM and classic electronica, Ibe Thru Epetron reimagines those styles through a cutting edge lens with vintage sampling hardware and analogue instruments such as the Roland TR-909 and TB-303.

Opened by “Ziegler7688,” the record kicks off with the crisp shuffle of rustling beats as a bouncy bassline maintains a steady groove. Developing with the swell of transportive synth textures and bright lead lines dashed with warbling vocal samples, the track serves up a slick experimental electronic jam packed full of twists and turns.

“Hadfield Acid (mkorgus mix)” follows with a flurry of zapping synth shots and shifting percussive shots to form an off-kilter soundscape that morphs with hazy synth textures, crafting a stunning slice of contrasting elements that gradually melt into a dreamy sound before jumping with the piquant tones of buzzing synth flashes.

“crimpresent tune1” launches with stuttered synth stabs and colourful 8-bit vibes, rolling with stacks of competing loops of bleeping tones and pattering rhythms while “Apanuary (altervolc mix)” drifts into focus with the delicate flutter of lead synth notes and brush of restrained percussion, gliding through tempo shifts and rhythmic switch ups to deliver a riveting musical journey from start to finish.

Tracks like “HRCsequencx” revolve around playful basslines while the twinkle of airy leads shimmer above, resulting in a spacious yet minimal arrangement that conjures melody and motion in equal measure. With “NewcastleTrip1,” the hurried rattle of tapped percussion and wobble of woozy synth elements combine to craft a wholly absorbing sound that puts Outlaltuo fiercely unique sound on full display.

Closing the release with “Post Wildfire – ite version,” the gentle flow of soft synth notes cast a soothing listening experience, offering a mellow, stripped back finale to Outlaltuo’s incredible debut full-length record. With Ibe Thru Epetron, Outlaltuo has demonstrated that’s he’s got both the creativity and the sound design panache to deliver a visionary and thoroughly enthralling musical output and we can’t wait to see what the project has in store next.

Listen to Ibe Thru Epetron below