There are a number of collaborations between the triumvirate of Uwe Zahn, Porya Hatami, and Darren McClure but only in permutations as a pair. Ypsilon is the first collaboration where all three work together and the results are unlike any of the previous. Whereas prior dual collaborations like In Between Spaces, and Nest dwell in atmospheric, textural sound art, Ypsilon is more sublime atmospheric-dub-ambient-techno at home in the hallowed halls of Basic Channel/Chain Reaction roster. Ypsilon captures the vaporous moments between dream and wakefulness, the twilights of dusk and dawn and instills a sense of wonderment, even to seasoned listeners. It is not clear in the liner notes which artist contributed what sound, and that is by design. There are tones that seem to evoke the signature Arovane style, but that could be from another member. For all we know, the least Arovane-like sound could be Zahn’s contribution. That is because Zahn is the kind of artist who likes to play with listeners’ expectations and challenge them. Opening track, “they’ll” begins with a rummaging clamour and then envelops like a dive into a cool lake during a hot day or a cool breeze for several moments until the sensuous rush instilled from the kick-beats announce like the rhythmic tapping of a tail from a whale as varied tones wash over like schools of colourful fish. The following, “cyntr” with its progressive layered melodic synth modulations evokes the dreamier yet playfully quirky sounds of The Orb. “synfolt” is comprised of fragmentary female enunciations amidst ornate textures and breezy atmospheres that wash over. “blynn” has a myriad of disparate yet gentle tones that come together like the frayed ends of a rug and coalesce into lovely musical patterns while higher pitched tones wistfully float above as momentum builds. “absyrb” takes us into a living, cavernous techno club cocoon with electro-currents that pulse and course like a rod just after it is struck by lightning, followed by retro-organ tones. “prysma” is made up of toybox melodies while ghostly tones swirl while title track, “ypsilon” is a series of string-like resonances on a bed of gentle pastel tones. Book-end piece, “byte” concludes with continuous ambient flow, a gentle noctural breeze where microcosms of sound emerge, a restive conclusion to a work of blissbeat. Ypsiolon is easily one of the loveliest recordings of 2019 and also a pleasant surprise for both techno and ambient enthusiasts.