The long established and critically acclaimed DJ-Kicks series kicks off 2017 with suitably accomplished DJ, producer, vocalist and instrumentalist Matthew Dear at the helm. A man of many musical hats, Texas born, Detroit raised Dear has a wide reaching discography that takes in face melting techno as Jabberjaw, dark avant-pop under his own name and intricate minimal as Audion. Often with a gothic slant and full of curiousness, his pensive but playful music is an intoxicating distillation of many different influences, often with his own stylised vocals at the centre. As co-founder of both Ghostly International and Spectral Sound Dear has also been responsible for some of the underground scene’s most exciting new music, plenty of which appears here. Now more than 15 years, five albums and 20 EPs into his esteemed and always evolving career, Dear is exactly the sort of fascinating character that makes the very personal DJ-Kicks series so special. Included along the way are three brand new and exclusive cuts from Dear himself, one under his own name and two as Audion. They are typically weird and intriguing cuts that tie the whole unhinged and freaky mix together. Also helping to add to the left-of-centre afterparty vibe are inclusions by artists as diverse as Thatmanmonkz and Matrixxmann, ItaloJohnson and Pearson Sound, Randomer and Simian Mobile Disco. Wholly timeless yet totally of its time, this is the first new work from Dear in a while. Once again, though, it proves that he is a master of subversion; someone who can head down a brain frying techno warren then effortlessly onto raw machine grooves via left of centre synth ditties and kaleidoscopic house music. In his considered hands, they all make perfect sense.