It has been 5 years since English composer & producer Jon Hopkins released his landmark album Immunity recorded in his home studio in London. Before this he was renowned for his film scores & collaborative work with Brian Eno. Singularity is Hopkins’s fifth album and is another foray into atmospheric electronic music.

Hopkins knew he wanted to approach this album differently and already had the title in mind before he started the recording process. He was also keen to broaden his horizons by experimenting with natural psychedelic highs as he wanted to create an experience rather than a story (which he did with Immunity). This is evident in the title track Singularity which opens with a drone like atmospheric chasm of synths before his trademark bleeps and staccato drum beats kick in literally taking the listener into another universe.

There is an organic delicate rhythm to the opening of Emerald Rush that sees Hopkins move into a more ambient electronic terrain but once again his signature style disparate beats take centre stage and there are strong similarities here to Open Eye Signal from his previous album. The dimension shifting epic that is Everything Connected neatly draws together the first half of the record with the track’s slow build ups culminating into a mind melting intergalactic techno belter.

Photo by Steve Gullick

The second half of Singularity sees Hopkins exercise a degree of restraint whilst still keeping to his original experiential vision, especially on Feel First Life and Echo Dissolve. Whilst both of these tracks have an otherworldly feel to them, Hopkins’s minimal use of piano ground them in the present.

One could say that Singularity is simply an extension of his previous album Immunity but it is actually more than that. It is a mind opening, visionary piece of work from an artist that has just discovered that his creativity knows no bounds.