igaxx: new lights
Francisco Espregueira
Glasgow label 12th Isle has spent years curating esoteric vinyl from the margins of club culture. For their latest release, the imprint welcomes Tokyo producer Shota Ikawa, operating as Igaxx. After a series of split releases and dancefloor focused EPs over the last decade, he finally steps forward with his debut full-length project, New Lights. The eight-track offering sits right between late-night dancefloors and home listening sessions. Recording with multi-tracked hardware synths from the 1990s and 2000s, Ikawa lets analog chance guide his studio process.
The sound draws clear inspiration from vintage leftfield electronics like Elektrolux and Rising High. Downtempo rhythms merge with weightless ambient textures, carrying a quiet sense of humor and subtle and mesmerizing detail. Instead of locking into rigid patterns, the hardware arrangements drift and breathe through live performance variations. Hints of West Coast psychedelia and early UK chillout pulse gently beneath warm analogue house foundations. New Lights brings an atmosphere of its own, where patience and unpredictable vintage hardware create a truly immersive listening space. Available on vinyl.
“It has allowed me to express and unify a broader musical world than was possible within the format of an EP, and that, to me, is one of the album’s greatest meanings.”