Ambient electronica often gets stereotyped as pretentious elevator music that’s a dime a dozen on SoundCloud. Soprosyne’s Reference Material sets itself apart with a New Orleans flair. Like other ambient works, this album fades into the background like lo-fi beats to study to, or washes over the listener to create an open-ended and reflective experience.

Jason Van Pelt, a.k.a. Sophrosyne, has been producing his blend of New Orleans-inspired glitch hop since his 2005 release Literate NOLA. Pelt, a New Orleans native, has sought to marry elements of his home city with ’90s-era electronica and instrumental hip hop throughout his career. His previous release in 2020, Parades, built tracks around Mardi Gras rhythms. Now with Reference Material, Pelt aims to build off some of those rhythms while drawing influence from the bass work of George Porter Jr.

Throughout Reference Material, whirring synths create warm and fuzzy textures. Dissonant keys strike around drumbeats ranging from steady to trotting. On close listen, the soundscape remains off-kilter without becoming unpleasant. If allowed, the album can submerge listeners in story-driven melodies.

The short, intermission track “I’ll Eat You Up” features an addictive bass line. This aggressively distorted sound is accented with the tap and crash of the snare drum. High hats add swagger and forward momentum to the track. The drums on “Quilombo” feel like witnessing a trippy, cyborg version of a Mardi Gras Indian band with chittering synths and pounding bass.

Its clear Pelt has assembled and created a vast catalog of sounds to vary each track. No moment feels overblown and the album keeps pace with each track feeling purposeful to the overall narrative. It can be a lot at once, but moments of reprieve on the record allow the listener to rest before diving back into the playful layering.

Reference Material reflects the musical complexity of New Orleans. The city is as much about brass bands on Frenchmen Street as it is street raves in abandoned buildings and hip hop shows in shotgun houses.