The Star Eyed Condition is chameleonic effort in the impossible to pin down trajectory of Loden s career. The Belgian-based producer and musician has already proven his facility for glassy disco and droning ambient on his 2005 debut Valeen Hope, and glitchy hip-hop via his work with Sole and Thirsty Fish. On his new album, Koks goes even further beyond his already drawn boundaries. There is a touch of robo-electro to tracks like *Optimist Never Cries* and *Sanesserarian* (a play on the phrase *ça ne sert a rien* or *it is useless*). He brings the ghostly sounds of German electronic pop into the dirtiest of hip-hop beats. And on his collaboration with rhymer Doseone, *Future Confetti*, he gets lost in a psychedelic wilderness worthy of DJ Danger Mouse.
To bring this new collection to bear, Koks tapped a number of his friends on their shoulders, asking them to provide rhymes and melodies to these tracks. Busdriver jumps in the aforementioned sink spray track "About Busdriver With Colors," slinking through the acid techno swirl. And collaborator Sole makes an appearance on the album closer "A Letter to a Future Kid," laying his reflectively calm rhymes atop a slowly unfolding dreamlike beat.
Thinking of his favorite records and the music that inspired him to start making sounds of his own, Koks says, "I love being completely blown away by a record and just wanting to live inside of it."
Loden is not alone in that idea, but what may surprise him to know is that there are going to be plenty of listeners out there lining up to take up residence inside of The Star Eyed Condition.
