Temporal Waves is a new project from renowned Canadian tabla player Shawn Mativetsky, transporting the tabla into a rich electronic sound world. One glance at the dystopian imagery and Atari-era typefaces of its Sarper Baran-designed sleeve, and one knows that this is quite the departure. On this self-titled debut of his new moniker, Shawn’s tabla is bathed in the neon glow of analog synthesizers, the woozy warp of hand-manipulated tapes, and the electric patter of drum machines. Spanning crepuscular murk to widescreen elegies, Temporal Waves is an excursion deep into aural science fiction. Ominous arpeggiations swoop in like robotic birds of prey, as robust sawtooth chords trace a dim, smoggy horizon. And as Omnichord trickles into artificial landscapes, tabla punctuates the scenery.

Temporal Waves’ orientation toward yesterday's futuristic sounds certainly isn't superficial anemoia, it isn't even unadulterated nostalgia. Grounded in lived experience, the gravitation toward these sonorities and images connects to the underlying themes of the album on a fundamental level. The fascination with antiquated machinery expresses a longing for the more innocent futures depicted in 1980s popular culture, a stark contrast to the nihilistic question marks of today’s uncertain forecasts. The record quietly outlines a redemptive arc, moving from the grim and very real foreboding of impending climate apocalypse and accelerationist capitalism to a more hopeful space where humanity discovers a more symbiotic relationship between nature and technology.

Featuring production and performance contributions from Jace Lasek of the Besnard Lakes, the album was mastered by respected synthwave denizen, Jeppe Hasseriis (AKA Dynatron).