The Pool represents Apta's most focused and compelling release to date. Based on the transformative plunge of a psychedelic experience, it maps both tentative footsteps into the unknown and euphoric, melodic bliss. Recorded using a combination of modular synthesis, Arp Odyssey, bass, guitar, Elektron grooveboxes and (for the first time in Apta's recorded history) a hint of vocals. There are wisps of melody from the outset, woven through skittering modular synths and saturated bass guitar. But it's on the post-rock indebted 'Shiver' and follower 'Awash' that Apta's distinctive mix of ambient music and flourishing melody take the fore. We also get some more off-piste excursions, widening the boundaries of Apta's already diverse sound and resulting in an album that falls somewhere in the middle ground between post-rock, pop ambient and kosmische. Though there are definitely echoes of that pristine production aesthetic that has defined Apta's sound to date, there are a lot more layers involved, with both gritty percussion and analogue distortion playing a much more significant role, echoing the waves of emotion involved in the tryptamine plunge, and resulting in a stylistically varied, but familiar experience. 'The Pool' is both surprising and intriguing, richly layered but undeniably melodic, and has found it's perfect home on Castles In Space.

Barry Smethurst expands: "The Pool' to me feels like the sort of album that epitomises what I'm trying to do with my music, influenced by melody-laiden electronica and guitar-led post rock while sounding like neither. I've always felt that it would be nice to have another layer to my compositions (a minor key here or there) and some less upbeat pieces, and I think the theme of the LP works perfectly as a parallel, with both moments of sublime joy and flickers of the intimidating unknown coming together. The album was 'Finished' just before I got the Arp Odyssey, so was originally a lot less Arp heavy, but because the noise oscillator mix of the synth works perfectly with the saturated haze of the LP as a whole, I went back and recorded a load of tracks to add it in."

Castles in Space are delighted to be releasing this beautiful and euphoric album as their first release of 2025. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Martin says: Apta’s latest libation has been a long time brewing. He released his first E.P. back in 2011 - for context, David Cameron was prime minister, the UK was still happily part of the E.U. and pandemics were the stuff of history lessons and disaster movies. So much has changed since, not least in Apta’s sonic world, although in this case those developments have not been jarring, each new iteration building on the fertile ground of the former; this being the most complete realisation of his creative vision to date.

“The Pool” is a sympathetic expression of psychedelic experience through music, with accents of post-rock, kosmische, Icelandic glitch popsters Múm and even folk inflexions adding texture to a modular electronic core. For the first time in his recorded history there are even vocals (hushed mind you, and only on the one song, the gorgeous drift of “Emerge”).

Yes, it’s taken 14 years to get to this point, but it’s definitely been worth the wait - and infinitely more welcome than some things I could think of.

TRACK LISTING

1. Sink
2. Shivers
3. Awash
4. One Foot
5. MLT
6. Meniscus
7. Dive
8. The Depths
9. Emerge
10. Breathe