Zigoku [地獄]

“This album is made with the theme of human death” is a bold quote from any artist, but Japanese artist 99LETTERS had already made enough striking releases by the time of 2023’s Zigoku to be able to back up the words. Continuing his now trademark fusion of murky techno and traditional Japanese instruments, his minimal, striking compositions are rooted amidst both more straightforward loop productions such as the more mechanistic funk of “Hotokesama,” and intriguingly elaborate constructions, as with the emerging collages of “Kamaitachi.”