| GODFATHER OF DOWNTEMPO AND TRIP-HOP PIONEER ERIC HILTON (THIEVERY CORPORATION) RELEASES NEW, MINIMAL SINGLE FEAT. LONGTIME COLLABORATOR PUMA PTAH “LEAVE IT ALL” NOW STREAMING ON YOUTUBE AND ALL PLATFORMS NEW “COMPILATION MIX”-INSPIRED ALBUM, MIDNIGHT RAGAS, AVAILABLE VIA MONTSERRAT HOUSE MUSIC ON FRIDAY, JUNE 20 ENGLISH, FRENCH AND SPANISH-SPEAKING LP FEATURES VOCAL CONTRIBUTIONS FROM PUMA PTAH, NATALIA CLAVIER & KRISTINA WESTERNIK-DANDRIDGE “Hilton’s true love lies with trip-hop, a genre he helped to create with a pioneering approach to sound design, highlighted by ingenious sampling, moody synths and psychedelic lo-fi.” — EDM.com “Encapsulating Hilton’s meditations, his music is textured in trance-like motions and effortlessly moves through different times and space.” — American Songwriter “Hilton’s more analog approach creates a lush sonic environment that will stand the test of time and ever-changing trends.” — Magnetic Magazine “Hilton views songwriting as something of a cleansing act, where his mood can be channeled directly into his sonic output.” — Relix STREAM: “LEAVE IT ALL” FEAT. PUMA PTAH (ON YOUTUBE) STREAM: “LEAVE IT ALL” FEAT. PUMA PTAH (ON ALL PLATFORMS) |
| Montserrat House Music and trip-hop pioneer Eric Hilton are pleased to present “Leave It All,” the latest single to be lifted from the Friday, June 20 release of Midnight Ragas, the godfather of downtempo’s brand new “compilation mix” LP that has the distinct feel of international exotica, a sound that Hilton has cultivated over 30 years of album releases. Featuring smooth vocals from longtime collaborator Puma Ptah, “Leave It All” is a ballad torn out of the Massive Attack/Zero 7 playbook with a deep, minimal groove. Stream “Leave It All” on YouTube HERE and on all platforms HERE. Pre-save/pre-add/pre-order Midnight Ragas HERE. |
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| Midnight Ragas album cover art. Download hi-res HERE. Download hi-res Eric Hilton press photo HERE. Credit: Puma Ptah. |
| Compilation albums have always been a great tool for discovery, especially in electronic music. A couple of familiar artists or tracks, sequenced amongst unknown treasures, taking the listener on a satisfying journey through different moods and sounds. It’s not easy to make a good compilation album, one bad track can throw off the whole vibe, the flow. A great compilation album can elevate the individual tracks and put them into a context where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. With Midnight Ragas, Eric Hilton has made a great compilation album. Except not really. We’ll explain. Midnight Ragas is a new album by the downtempo electronic music producer, with vocal contributions by longtime collaborators Natalia Clavier and Puma Ptah, along with newer recruit Kristina Westernik-Dandridge. And while the tracks are all new Eric Hilton recordings, the album sounds like a killer compilation record, with shifting tempos, moods, vocalists, and languages across twelve tracks. The vintage age of mix CDs may be long over, but listen to Midnight Ragas and you’ll think it never left. Hilton has plenty of experience with compilation albums. Tracks by Thievery Corporation, the downtempo combo Hilton co-founded in 1995, have been featured on over 600 mix CDs, according to music database website Discogs. “I loved compilations back in the day. You bought them to get turned on to new sounds, or you liked the artist compiling it. ‘Midnight Ragas’ was not conceptualized as a compilation; the album is a moment of eclecticism,” says Hilton. The opener, “Life In the Deep End”, hits like an even more laid-back Khruangbin, soundtracking a vintage Billy Dee Williams Malt liquor advert. Track three is “Je ne t’aime plus” (I don’t love you anymore) — imagine it’s 1970 and you’re Alain Delon or Catherine Deneuve, driving a light gold Ferrari Daytona along the coast from Cannes to Monaco. Clavier provides the vocal accompaniment, singing for Hilton in French for the first time. The third song is “Behind My Eyes” (‘70s crime flick meets ambient drum & bass). “I love the wildness of this track, we really nailed the production on this one, it’s tough and sets the tone for the next few tracks,” says Hilton. “All I Want” also features Ptah; the track is an ass-shaking, purple crushed velvet groove, hard but smoooooth. Track six, “Burkina Faso”, will be a standout track for longtime Thievery fans, a tough D.C. bounce and“you know what time it is” feel. Things start to shift with the title track — seven songs in and things start sounding mysterious on “Midnight Raga”. “Traditional ragas are improvisational but repetitive; this song somehow is repetitive but doesn’t hit you that way,” opines the producer. Next up: “Sol Interior”, with gorgeous vocals from Clavier amid Ipcress File/John Barry twinkles. It sounds a bit like a great lost track from Air’s classic debut Moon Safari. The album closes out with a trifecta of late-night slow burners. “Madame Asha” is classic trip-hop, a nod to legendary Indian American vocalist Asha Puthli. “L’Ocean” stays on the ‘90s trip-hop wavelength and is a standout for Hilton, as good as any track of the era/genre. And it all comes down to “Beautiful Moment”, unquestionably the most romantic track on the album. Vocals by Westernik-Dandridge summon thoughts of the late summer evening sun, slow kisses and dew drops on agave leaves. It’s as perfect a sonic representation of apres-release afterglow that you’re likely to hear. And then it’s all over, sigh … unless you’ve put your CD player/turntable/streamer on auto repeat, which is the right idea. Midnight Ragas is the compilation album that isn’t; perhaps that’s why it’s so listenable, and so unforgettable. |
