Lose your marbles with Tipper’s newest album, ‘Marble Hunting’

October 29, 2022

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Dave Tipper has a way with wubs, warbles, and making his live audience loose their marbles. Anyone who has been to his curated events can confirm that this godfather of electronic music has got a special knack for leaving his crowd puddled and picking up their faces off the floor. Almost exactly a year to the date since the release of his Insolito EP, Tipper has released a long-term project that does just that.

Introducing: Marble Hunting, ten tracks of pure Dave Tipper freestyle fundido. The release came as somewhat of a surprise since, as his manager explained, Tipper had a “life-altering health diagnosis” that pulled him out of the studio for a bit. The project also marks the semi-retired artist’s first full-length since 2019’s Jettison Mind Hatch and it is definitely a marker of where the glitch godfather has gone stylistically over the past three years. Whereas JMH was more downtempo, drippy, and blissfully ambient, Marble Hunting is more forward-thinking, psybient bangers meets acid breaks, and “let loose” fun. What is the same, however, is Dave’s experimental spirit, which lies at the heart of everything move the artist makes.

Whether it’s the skilled scratching on “Groundscore” – the kind that only Tipper can do – or the old-school samples of “rave day” lore on “Goner” is complete with old-school samples of “rave day” lore, Marble Hunting is a pure stroke of genius from start to finish. A true standout on the album is, well, all of the tracks; but “Mason” showcases a kind of skilled synth work that is mind-spinning and second to none. Then there’s the LP’s closer, “Pillow Roulette,” which emits 80s synth-pop tones like is slightly reminiscent of Stranger Things on the builds, while Tipper constructs his mind-boggling journey in arpeggiated chords. All in all, this one is begging to be experienced live— and it already has been for much of his faithful cult following.

Stream Tipper’s Marble Hunting below, out now via Tippermusic. Also, keep your eyes peeled for a show announcement coming soon as well as more 2023 show announcements to follow.