In late 2009, Maxy Bills released "Peace for Pieces," his debut EP merging sounds of dub and triphop to create his signature brand of "future cosmic funky glooping intergalactic resonance" (Maxy's description of his own sound). Now, after nearly 2 years of fiddling with machines and refining the style, "Dust Moats" is ready for release.

"Dust Moats" is very much a product of the beat scenes of today, while avoiding the traps and cliches that commonly prevail. On the title track, the drums come in almost as an afterthought, casually weaving into the lush synthetic drones that form the base. Things build ever so slowly from there, with Maxy showing a kind of patience with the beat rarely demonstrated. Tracks seems to gather steam as they follow each other, with the echo-drenched dubs of "Fruit Time," easing into the slightly busier "Seeding Suns," and then again picking up the tempo on "No More Mice." And it's on this track that things really get going. A round, fat, bass tone ambles along under skittering drums, giving the impression this could just have easily originated in London, or LA, as it was in Perth. The complex sonics continue until the final track, "Tom Sai" takes things down a notch once more, functioning as a soundtrack for a moment of contemplation.

The themes and concepts within "Dust Moats" speak of a connection with nature, and a thirst for knowledge - be it without or within. The resulting sounds reflect an artist who's developed his craft to the point that it's just an extension of himself. "Dust Moats" takes you on a journey, but it's a journey that reminds you how interesting and exotic things can be, without you having to travel very far.

Out 29/07/11 on The Community Records.

Launched 29.07.2011 at The Bird alongside Diger Rokwell’s "Sri Diger."

thecommunity.com.au/maxy-bills