RIYL: Four Tet, Lido Pimienta, Terry Riley, Principe Records, Chancha Via Circuito. The double meaning of Brandon Valdivia's pseudonym Mas Aya neatly encapsulates his musical outlook. Over the past fifteen years, the Toronto composer, percussionist and producer has established himself as an integral part of the city's vibrant and varied music community through his membership in groups such as Not The Wind, Not The Flag, Picastro, The Cosmic Range, I Have Eaten The City, and alongside the GRAMMY Award-nominated Lido Pimienta, who appears on this disc. The Mas Aya moniker speaks to the interplay of the traditional and the exploratory in his work and refers both to the Nicaraguan town where his grandmother is from, and the Spanish phrase "el m?s all?," meaning "the beyond." M?scaras, Valdivia's fourth release since 2012, marks his debut with Telephone Explosion and first release on vinyl. It's easily his most colourful and expansive outing to date; nowhere else in his catalogue is the aforementioned collision of musical lineages and sonic discovery more evident. Like his alias, the album's title (Spanish for 'masks') embodies multiple significances. On one hand, it invokes the distinctive masks employed in both indigenous ceremony and Nicaraguan resistance movements (referenced in M?scaras' artwork). On the other, it's descriptive of one of Valdivia's preferred compositional devices. In any given one of these pieces the focal point remains in flux concealed even as its constituent ingredients dance their way in and out the foreground. M?scaras is anchored by Valdivia's deft and atmospheric production style that folds together intricate spiraling synths, balmy environments, and crisp drum programming, variously drawing from trap, footwork, early Warp-label gestures, and the digital end of dancehall reggae. Yet it's his love of organic instrumentation that truly cements his commitment to an eclectic, unclassifiable aesthetic. Although he's well-respected as a drummer particularly in wayward rock and im...
