Audiopile Review: NYC’s Incienso kick off 2025 with an absolute showstopper after a fairly quiet 2024, though their critically acclaimed release from Huerco S’ Loidis guise more than made up for their quiet year. As they’ve consistently done, Incienso elevate a new talent, this time around offering up the debut proper from SF producer Raven, who has been quietly stacking up mixes and digital-only releases over the preceding years. And Raven slips oh so easily into Incienso’s cushy catalog, sharing a like-minded headspace as Jonny From Space and his liquid after-hours zoners, Beta Librae’s sparkling IDM and Incienso co-head Anthony Naples’ signature style of lo-fi ambient-house, particularly recalling his illusory, shapeshifting effort for Good Morning Tapes, 2018’s Take Me With You. Without looking to re-invent the wheel, Raven zeroes in and amplifies the ethereal elements of ambient-techno, electro and house for an utterly mesmerizing set that’s gonna be a sure shot for fans of early Actress, Detroit Escalator Co, and even Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works 85-92. Kicking off with the appropriately titled “Gnosis Theme”, Raven sets the tonal backdrop right out the gate, dropping us into a frothy glow of lo-fi tape fizz, warbling BoC adjacent synths and choppy piano lines, a warm and inviting bath that’s essentially the template throughout Gnosis’ subtle manoeuvring through genres. “Endless Edition” exploits the starriest side of Drexciyan electro with a sublime wash of ambient synths and sci-fi programming, while “Jupiter’s” shimmering and intertwining melodies play atop a pillowy pulse of drum machines that recall the dreamtime ambient-techno of Niko Tzoukmanis, and “In Loving Memory” updates the crystallized tones of Splazsh with a particularly melted touch that feels purpose-built to bedazzle us out of our restless states. Okay, we are name checking some heavy hitters here, but Gnosis isn’t mere mimicry. This is a vital new strand in the continuing evolution of electronic music. An incredible debut that comes with a massive recommendation.

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For our first release of 2025, Incienso is excited to present “GNOSIS”, the debut album from San Francisco-based musician Raven.