From the opening melody of Los Angeles’ outfit Deep Dark Blue’s ‘Manly Man Made Mask’, you know that this track isn’t playing by the usual rules. A repeated steel drum arrangement is what we first hear, it’s not your everyday introduction and is wonderful to hear this instrument taken away from its increased use in dance music. Everything is lo-fi, stretched out, completely relaxed befitting the the jazz drums and lilting, reverberated vocals. It’s far too easy to get carried away on the gentle ebb and flow of Jason Ganberg and Bryce Alber’s textured, ambient electronica which spans almost six minutes. Around the half way point, we’re almost lost to the current when the instrumentation comes terrifyingly close to losing all control, but then (at 2:15) we’re brought back to shore with a grounding, minimal piano interlude. However, the reprieve is only temporary as the earnest tapping of cymbals indicates, we’re swiftly launched back into wild electronics and spiky guitars, but before you know it the chaos is over and we’re eased towards to end with steady acoustic percussion. ‘Manly Man Made Mask’ is a fantastic piece of planned improvisation, well worth listening to if you’re after something different today. - HT