Bullets From Habikino City H*C*, Ove-Naxx’s first release outside of Japan, showcases a delirious take on raggamuffin drum & bass and post-modern Nipponese pop. Catchy synth melodies buzz inside fast-moving thickets of percussion. Reggae and video-game music are an obvious influence, as are Japanese harmonic systems.

The overall sound can be compared to artists such as Venetian Snares, DJ /Rupture, Knifehandchop or Squarepusher, but Ove-Naxx’s superb production has a voice all its own. Meticulous sampling, nonstandard IDM flourishes, and psychedelic digital noise swell around uptempo reggae-flavored beats as funky as they are fractured. Ove-Naxx makes intricate pop songs and is unafraid to use distortion, speed, and mayhem as compositional tools.

Despite its hypercomplex drum programming, this is unabashedly soulful music - flowing earnestly from Ove-Naxx’s strange cyborg heart. (Soot)