Crystal Pleasures, by Faex Optim

Crystal Pleasures

by Faex Optim

supported by

Riley ELF Gorgeous over heaphones. I didn't get my drinks coaster, but no matter, I'll be seeing him live on Saturday. Favorite track: Wash & Play.

jumbotrousers What a record this is! Melodic but still offbeat, unique but familiar. I'm new to Faex Optim but I'll be looking for more after this. An absolute masterpiece in both composition and design. Love it. Favorite track: Great Balloons.

swansither Any serious artist should take a big risk occasionally, push themselves and change up the style and methods. You have pulled it off big time here, congratulations. No favourite track, all good

ejcw WFR is on a roll, this album is superb, only highpoints. Favorite track: Came In Screaming.

John Anderson Hard to pick a favourite track on this when they're all so good. Fantastic album. It's right up there with the best. Thanks Wesley. Favorite track: Came In Screaming.

amc Faex Optim v2.0 with added audio injection performance, increasing feels from 8 to 11 out of 10.

Not to be slept on, this LP is one of the very best of 2023 and is a future classic. A complete piece of work, with some massive highlights, including the soaring Palindrome Moment, the delight of Wash and Play's drop, cumulating in the LPs close, Candescence which rumbles into the distance.

Don't sleep on this. Favorite track: Palindrome Moment.

more...

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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Beautiful red vinyl version of Crystal Pleasures. Each copy will receive a complimentary Crystal Pleasures drink coaster.

Includes unlimited streaming of Crystal Pleasures via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 14 days

edition of 200

Purchasable with gift card

£9.99 GBP or more
Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

£7 GBP or more

	1.	Wester Hailes (Feat. Cholly) 04:32
	2.	Night Terrors 04:46
	3.	Palindrome Moment 03:31
	4.	Came In Screaming 06:25
	5.	Great Balloons 06:05
	6.	Wash & Play 05:40
	7.	Night Terrors Part 2 02:29
	8.	Candescence 04:56

about

Crystal Pleasures is the brand new album from renowned Edinburgh producer Faex Optim.

For those new to the name, prepare to be bowled over.

For those familiar with the sound of Faex Optim (pronounced Fah-ex Optim, real name Wesley MacDonald), be prepared for a compositional overhaul, well worth the near 4 year wait from 2020's "Let's Pretend".

In Wes' own words.... "It's a slight change of style."

Type in 'faex optim' on youtube, and you'll get where he is coming from. In almost every Faex Optim youtube video you can find, comments comparing him to the work of the two most famous Scottish musical brothers in electronica are commonplace. Some even allude to the fact that Faex Optim could be Boards of Canada under a new name, explaining the lack of new BoC material.

"It felt like had done as much as I could do in that direction, and I felt like I needed to do something to mix it up.” explains Wes in a recent interview with Bloop Radio London. ‘The new album's got less of the archaic, wobbly synth sounds, and maybe it’s bit more driven.. slightly cleaner mixes.”

And he's not kidding. Crystal Pleasures is a revolution from the classic FO sound. Wes' classic lo-fi production techniques (crispy drums and cloudy synth lines) are still present, but compositionally, Wes is treading through fresh powder.

Album opener 'Wester Hailes' is almost guaranteed to deliver goosebumps, thanks in no small part to fellow WFR artist Cholly delivering spellbinding, near-operatic vocals. Tracks like the pumping "Came In Screaming' and 'Wash & Play' are more akin to Bicep than Boards, reinforcing the sonic makeover. The uptempo electronica of "Great Balloons" and album closer "Candescence' deliver a level of euphoria you would expect from the likes of peak Chemical Brothers and Orbital. It's a revelation. There are softer, more reflective moments on Crystal Pleasures, but overall, the album hits so differently from Wes' earlier work, and we believe the album is all the better for it.

"It feels like something kind of new and fresh." Says Wes. "It almost feels like it’s a first album, and you’re hopeful that people will like it, but there’s always that thing in your mind that people might go 'What is this? What is he doing?' So there’s nervousness, but that’s also quite exciting."

Here's to Crystal Pleasures; an album designed not to fit in, but to stand out.

credits

released August 31, 2023

All tracks written, arranged and produced by Wesley MacDonald
Mastering by Antony at RedRedPaw
Design by Stephen Osborne
With special thanks to Cholly and Brady Lasserre.

license

about

Faex Optim Edinburgh, UK

Post-electronic music. Currently residing in the grey drizzle of Scotland.

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