Indonesian electronic experimentalists Bottlesmoker release immersive new track, ‘Tortuga II’

Indonesian experimental electronic duo Bottlesmoker have dropped a hypnotic new track, ‘Tortuga II’.

Structurally, the track reprises the chordal and melodic elements of the track’s predecessor, ‘Tortuga I’, which the duo dropped earlier in September 2020.

Compared to the track’s original version – which featured more prominent vocals and a more vibrant sonic signature – the newly-released sequel adopts a more subdued route, featuring squelching sub-bass pulses, insistent kick patterns and luminous, arpeggiating synths.

Listen to ‘Tortuga II’ here:

The track follows ‘Menjadi Cahaya’, a 16-minute long ambient track the duo dropped earlier in May in collaboration with healer Nabila Gasani.

The experimental duo’s last full-length output was last year’s ‘Konser Plantasia’. Taking cues from Mort Garson’s cult 1976 record ‘Mother Earth’s Plantasia’, the record was a collection of compositions which blended organic field recordings and synth explorations that aimed to improve “plants’ growth”.

In 2020, the duo planned and performed a series of performances of the music to an audience of plants, in response to Indonesia’s COVID-induced ban on live concerts – one of which the duo documented in a video performance.

“[We took on] a history of Indonesian culture that has a special connection to rice plants, such [as] the sound of Karinding which can [repel] vermin, to the Tarawangsa which [is] used in the rituals toward Dewi Sri as the goddess of rice,” Bottlesmoker described the music recorded in the video performance’s description.

Meanwhile, their 2020 release ‘Pieces That Fit’ was a collaborative effort with indie folk outfit Stars and Rabbit. That record followed albums including 2017’s ‘Parakosmos’ and 2014’s ‘Hypnagogic’.

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