Premiere: JL Segel – Symptoms of Contact

She’d caught his eye on the train home a few times now, which had advanced to a passing smile; a game of back and forth. Neither had plucked up the courage to say hello yet, perhaps it was the excitement of this mysterious exchange. The worry that if one of them opened their mouth that would evaporate in an instant. But something had to progress. This time as she stepped off the train, she brushed her hand softly against his, feeling the hairs bristle on her neck almost immediately. This sensory touch was enough to keep her wondering until their next chance meeting.

The next record on London-based label and artist collective squareglass comes in the form of a debut EP from JL Segel. Having collaborated with the likes of Lapsley and Stubbleman, Segel now turns his attention to his solo pursuits with the release of SKIN: a four-track EP that blends ambient atmospheres and electronic motifs with abstract textures.

The EP seeks to explore the relationship between sound and the body, drawing on how sensations stimulate the senses. JL Segel expands on this idea: “The sense of touch is really interesting to me. That’s because it doesn’t only give one the awareness of the objects touched, but also of one’s own body. Being this thing that stands at the crossroad of oneself and the world, I felt compelled to talk about it in musical terms. Using synthesizers as metaphors for bodies, being alive and modifiable and each having its own DNA, I wanted to convey how sensations ‘move’ and oscillate in our body and in our mind, revealing slowly unfolding processes and the very potential for transformation.”

Buy HERE.