GMJ & Matter – Telomeres [Meanwhile]

Posted on 8 hours ago

6 min read

Returning to spearhead Meanwhile’s output as 2025 kicks into gear, the collaborative pairing of GMJ & Matter deliver “Telomeres” alongside a remix from Australian icons Kasey Taylor and Karl Pilbrow for their 2023 hit “EXT 135” to round out the package.

The Melbourne-based duo behind the Meanwhile imprint are widely recognised as responsible for helping shape the modern Progressive House scene. Pivotal in the development of the label’s development both as solo artists and with their combined output, their work on Meanwhile has seen the “Lost on Origin”, “Gauntlet” and “Eldarin” EPs all released over the label’s inaugural year (between April and August 2020), before “The Path / Perfect Storm” followed 6 months later. 18 months elapsed before “Ext 135 / Elemental / Time To Space” appeared at the end of 2022 with “Stellaris / Idritah” following a year later in December 2023.

Now as 2025 finds its feet, GMJ & Matter provide their fans with a seventh original release on their ever-evolving label. The powerful building blocks that shape “Telomeres” evolve easily from its rolling groove foundations and deep sub-bassline sequence. A muted arp comes to the fore in perfect synchronous cadence while the endless delays present in the analogue motif cascade across the stereo spectrum filling the sonic space. A new and dynamic arpeggio appears at the breakdown as its gradual open filter provides the weight and dancefloor gravitas to herald a drop into the third movement. The same sequence makes an appearance in the second half in combination with the other rhythmic and melodic characters, to devastating effect.

Vapour Recordings head honcho, Kasey Taylor needs little introduction to the Meanwhile cognoscenti. A bona fide electronic music legend, the Australian artist has been at the vanguard of the progressive scene since the mid-90s with a double century of credits on such esteemed imprints as Sudbeat Music, Afterglow and John Digweed’s Bedrock and a century on his own Vapour Recordings. New Zealander, Karl Pilbrow moved to his adopted Melbourne home in 2012 before a partnership with Kasey Taylor witnessed a score of production credits including 2020’s “Amber Skies” and 2023’s “Fairlight” on Hernan Cattaneo’s Sudbeat. A trio of original releases on Vapour followed, not least in July 2024’s “Sonorous / Alluvium / Inscape”. Now debuting on Meanwhile, the Kasey Taylor & Karl Pilbrow remix of “EXT 135” contains the deep bassline presence of the original while an unrelenting, rapid-fire groove creates a magical tension. Developing sonic intrigue, the melodic progression of the original’s breakdown is found wedded to the driving rhythm in majestic and spine-tingling fashion. Full of bassline intensity, familiar vocal cuts and melodic fragility are the perfect counterweight to the rhythmic heft.

Protecting their legacy with another silky-smooth offering, “Telomeres” sees GMJ & Matter at their creative best.

Buy: https://www.beatport.com/release/telomeres-ext-135-kasey-taylor-karl-pilbrow-remix/4950130
Release Date: 07-03-2025