Beton Arme

Raiden has surpassed even his own well-established game with this massively conceptual, debut full length. Drawing on themes raised by brutalist architecture with each track named after a building, the high brow waffle ends there because this album is nothing but intense and enjoyable listening.

The split sides of Raiden's personality and labels (Offkey and Voodoo) become one as natural, diverse percussion bounces off overblown synthetic sounds. Stand out track Trellick races through tribal drumming patterns and bongo-constructed breaks, where the rest of the album turns down avenues of old school and junglist or deep and melodic vibes, all underscored by Raiden's masterful relationship with percussion instruments.