"Fermentoir" by bran(...)pos (the experimental moniker of Jake Rodriguez) is an oddity crafted to challenge perception. With a career spanning almost three decades and a reputation for deeply immersive, often surreal live performances, Rodriguez remains firmly entrenched in the world of avant-garde electronics and sound manipulation. "Fermentoir", released by No Part Of It, is a testament to his method of gestation, mixing, and evolution of sonic material over years - 2017 to 2023 - before the final product saw daylight in February 2024.

The record opens and closes with tracks conceived for multichannel sound, "Abrbor" and "Rally Hag", pieces that once bathed the audience in sound at San Francisco’s Club Fugazi, and which are here distilled into the more "convenient" form of stereo. Even as a single-layer experience, "Abrbor" is a cosmic dance between a Roland JX-8P and the subtle echoes of a racquetball court, a pairing as bizarre as it is delightful. "Rally Hag". on the other hand, pairs a Hammond Elegante with modular synths, yielding a hybrid that feels both nostalgic and experimental - a digital séance of sorts.

Between these bookends, "Hopraggat" and "Space Racist" delve into the territory of electroacoustic experimentation. "Hopraggat" seems to play with rhythms in a way that feels both industrial and organic, with percussion triggering modular synthesis that ripples through like pulses in a living machine. The unsettlingly titled "Space Racist" speaks to bran(...)pos’s tendency for irony and social commentary, layering alien-esque vocal snippets that intermittently trigger sequences, giving a surreal voice to themes of identity and otherness.

The album’s title, "Fermentoir", is aptly chosen: each track feels like an ingredient in a lengthy fermentation, a process of breaking down, recombining, and refining. It’s a maturation of both concept and sound, an auditory distillation of Rodriguez’s inner ferment. If "Fermentoir" is an experiment, it’s one that combines Rodriguez’s extensive experience with his insatiable urge to innovate. For those willing to step into the alchemy of sound that bran(...)pos has become known for, it’s a trip worth taking.