Ghost People

Where Martyn’s critically acclaimed 2009 album <i>Great Lengths</i> delivered the best aspects of dubstep while evading genre pigeonholes, his 2011 album <i>Ghost People</i> keeps dodging predictability while making something that sounds both familiar and previously uncharted. “Love and Machines” sets the tone with MC Spaceape freestyling over a glistening ambience, and “Viper” blends krautrock-inspired oscillations with laser effects, sequenced handclaps, and downtempo rhythms. With bubbling beats and an 808 State–influenced minimalism, “Masks” recalls the kind of late-night/early-morning dance music played at Manchester’s Hacienda in the early ‘90s. “Ghosts” switches things up with polyrhythmic percolations, vintage synthesizer drones, and what sounds like the peripheral whirring and chirping of <i>Star Wars</i> droids. Martin seems in his element as he keeps those more progressive arrangements sounding simple and flowing.