Bubblegum Aquarium by Crystal Sting

Envision the underwater levels of Super Mario 64 as directed by David Lynch. Or artificial schools of neon dollar store fish swimming through the ruins of Atlantis. Or Phillip Glass for the microplastic generation. Enter Crystal Sting.

The duo of Toronto producers Kurtis Perrie (@kurtisperrie) and Bjorn Kriel (@bjorn.mp3), encompass all these phenomena, and that’s only scratching the surface. Their mesmerizing POW Recordings debut "Bubblegum Aquarium" is an electro-acoustic soundtrack for exploration of the psychic deep seas. A whimsical, buoyant, and bright jetstream ride atop strange currents.

Perrie and Kriel met as kids crate digging at the local record store in their hometown of Kelowna, British Columbia, but didn’t cross paths again until less than three years ago, shortly after beginning college. The synergy was instant, and they began contributing to one another’s solo albums, works which attracted co-signs from Four Tet and Apple Music.

In 2023, a recording session with other young virtuosos in Toronto’s jazz scene allowed them to understand how best to manipulate their improvisations into startling new forms. That process soon evolved into a proper full-length, in which Perrie used modular synths to transmogrify Kriel’s acoustic instruments. The result is the tropically phosphorescent Bubblegum Aquarium.

Their music is playful yet rigorous, reflecting their unique backgrounds. Perrie is a member of Toronto's Number 9 Audio Group and studies electronics at university. His hardware insight inspired the album’s esoteric samples and innovative sonic eccentricities (the short circuiting bass on “Suburban Atomizer” comes from a refrigerator hum). Kriel is a multi-instrumentalist used to performing everything himself, and pulls inspirations from any material at hand. In BC and Toronto, he amassed regional notoriety for ripping vibraphone solos over J Dilla beats, and borrowed his neighbor’s steel drum to make the ecstatic “Splash Party” – something like a Jamie xx edit funnelled through a snowglobe. On lead single “HD Umbrella”, the two commit arson to an ambient jam that grooves like Caribou, but casts an orphic spell akin to Bjork.

Bubblegum Aquarium was recorded last summer in just five sessions split between Perrie’s basement and Kriel’s attic. It was cut live in real-time on two stereo tracks. The name comes from a vape flavor; the music is a breath of clean oxygen for cold lungs, warm, weird vibrations in a synthetically impure landscape. Highly recommended for fans of Autechre and Brian Eno, especially those searching for unexplored frequencies 10,000 feet below sea level. Take the plunge.

Deep Sea Explorers