{"product_id":"apta_the-pool_2025_dif","title":"The Pool","description":"'The Pool' represents Apta's most focused and compelling release to date. Based on the transformative plunge of a psychedelic experience, it charts both tentative steps into the unknown and euphoric melodic bliss. Recorded using a combination of modular synth, Arp Odyssey, bass, guitar, Elektron groovebox, and (for the first time in Apta's recorded history) a hint of vocals, there are threads of melody from the start, woven through shuddering modular synths and saturated bass guitar. But it’s on 'Shiver' and its successor 'Awash' that Apta’s distinctive blend of ambient music and flourishing melody really takes hold. We are also treated to other off-piste excursions, stretching the boundaries of Apta's already diverse sound and resulting in an album that sits somewhere between post-rock, ambient pop, and kosmische. While there are certainly echoes of that pristine production aesthetic that has defined Apta’s sound to date, there are many more layers involved, with gritty percussion and analogue distortion playing a much more prominent role, echoing the waves of emotion involved in the tryptamine plunge, and resulting in a stylistically varied yet familiar experience. ‘The Pool’ is both surprising and intriguing, rich in layers yet undeniably melodic, and has found its perfect home on Castles In Space. Barry Smethurst adds, “‘The Pool’ feels like the kind of album to me that embodies what I’m trying to do with my music, influenced by melodic electronica and guitar-led post rock whilst sounding like neither. I’ve always thought it would be good to have another layer to my compositions (a minor key here or there) and less upbeat pieces, and I think the LP’s theme works perfectly in parallel, with both moments of sublime joy and glimmers of daunting unknown coming together. The album was ‘finished’ just before I got the Arp Odyssey, so it was originally a lot less Arp heavy, but since the noise oscillator mix on the synth works perfectly with the saturated haze of the LP as a whole, I went back and recorded a load of parts to add it in.”","brand":"Apta","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55307021582680,"sku":null,"price":20250228.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0898\/4943\/0360\/files\/5060889590547_c754dc17-ca1f-43da-9114-857b87220d91.jpg?v=1760313724","url":"https:\/\/vinyles.com\/en\/products\/apta_the-pool_2025_dif","provider":"Vinyles.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}