Tangents is a Sydney-based quartet that melds electronic production, experimental rock and free improvisation.

Adrian Lim-Klumpes – piano, Rhodes, vibraphone, marimba, pedals
Evan Dorrian – drum kit, percussion
Ollie Bown – computer
Peter Hollo – cello, effects

Timeslips & Chimeras (2021, double vinyl, CD, digital album) on Temporary Residence Ltd.

Risk Reaps Reward (2020, digital EP) on Temporary Residence Ltd.

New Bodies (2018, vinyl, CD, digital album) on Temporary Residence Ltd.

Stents & Arteries EP (2018, digital only), on Temporary Residence Ltd.

Stateless (2018, vinyl, CD, digital album) on Temporary Residence Ltd.

I (2013, CD, digital) on hellosQuare and Not Applicable.

Live session recorded for ABC Radio National’s Sound Quality in late 2013. Download here, for now.

Reviews of Timeslips & Chimeras (click links for full reviews)

  • “It often feels more like the stream of consciousness from some sort of supernatural, unitary musical mind, like one voice speaking to you in a beautiful but not fully comprehended language. Some records are a journey; this one might be more of an environment” … “there’s truly very little else like it.” – Dusted Magazine
  • “Tangents have become adept at sculpting instrumental soundscapes that equal more than the sum of their parts.” – PopMatters
  • “Disparate parts that melt into unexpected harmony” … “The organic instrumentation is seamless in its ensemble, they are recording this as a live improvisation and, to put it bluntly, they are tight as fuck” … “It’s a unique use of sounds, if nothing spectacular in isolation, only truly elevated by the manner in which it’s constructed around the percussive spine” … “a triumph of ensembleship.” – Treble Zine
  • “The sublimely organic back and forth between improvised and painstakingly constructed music is really something to stare in awe at. You can’t really tell where one ends and the other begins, and sometimes not even which is which” … “While I don’t usually manage to pick up on things that rely on subtlety as their main means of expression, in this case I was simply smitten. There’s just something unnervingly evocative about how Tangents allow the action to unfurl” … “The production value of the record is nothing short of sterling. I really mean that – it’s just flawless” … “Timeslips & Chimeras feels riveting, poignant, and thought-provoking.” – Everything is Noise. 

Reviews of New Bodies and related (click links for full reviews)

  • “The Australian instrumentalists have always used their breathtaking technical dexterity to craft songs that feel like little worlds. Their fourth album fills those spaces with emotion.” – Grayson Currin’s 7.9 scoring review at Pitchfork.
  • “New Bodies is vibrant and refreshing, brimming with ideas but never seeming overwrought, and challenging without being too esoteric or off-putting.” – ☆☆☆☆ from Paul Simpson at AllMusic.
  • “It isn’t all that much of a stretch to say that New Bodies is unlike any other record you’ll hear this year, or even any other record the band themselves will create again, yet Tangents make catching the equivalent of an entire jar full of fireflies sound like second nature.” – 8/10 review from Ian King at PopMatters. (Album later ranked #20 in PopMatters’ 70 best albums of 2018)
  • “free floating new jazz…absolutely mind-blowing, it really is just wild, isn’t it?” – Mary Anne Hobbs, BBC Music
  • “Australia’s premier experimental instrumental ensemble is back with another album of eclectic, progressive fusion workouts that are wildly creative and technically stunning enough to stand alongside genre-smashing forbearers, Tortoise and Jaga Jazzist.” – Scott Gray in Exclaim.
  • “(Immersion’s) acclivity is beautiful, and by the time it reaches its point you’re left unclear about how you never predicted the impact of the song’s instrumentation at its inception.” – Bleep.com
  • “They take phenomena, memory, brain stuff, and convert it into body music. Rarely has a band got me so caught between my head and my heart.” – Norman Records, who later listed the album as #3 in their best albums of 2018.
  • “They are all well-established musicians, most of whom have solo projects on the go, but their egos are clearly left at the door for Tangents. Their shared commitment to the combined effect of their output is clear. And fruitful. The word ‘synergy’ – as battered and misused as it is – genuinely applies here. The whole was unavoidable and far more evident than the sum of the parts.” – X-Press (live review)
  • “Having toured with the seminal American post-rock ensemble Tortoise, Tangents has emerged as more of a thriving peer to that band than just another striving successor. Both acts create a vivid, living tapestry that eclipses stylistic borders. New Bodies places equal emphasis on brains and heart, and its daring shapeshifting goes down surprisingly easy.” – The Australian (link requires subscription)

Reviews of Stateless (click links for full reviews)

  • “Tangents artfully mix acoustic instruments and electronics in pieces that combine improvisation with careful processing. At their best, they bring to mind Can, Tortoise, Four Tet, and the Necks.” – Philip Sherburne’s in-depth 7.8 scoring review at Pitchfork.
  • “It’s almost inevitable that this album will incite comparisons to jazzy, electronic-friendly post-rock groups such as Tortoise and Fridge… but it doesn’t seem like a rehash of any particular artist or sound… Stateless is an incredibly refreshing listen.”– ☆☆☆☆ review from Paul Simpson at AllMusic.
  • “…there is a feeling of having been somewhere and witnessed something, even if you haven’t moved an inch while listening to this remarkable, transportive music.” – Scott Wallace at Sydney Scoop.
  • “It’s genuinely, breathlessly exciting and although it’s sometimes hard to tell where the live work stops and the studio fiddling begins, it comes across something like a live rendition of the best of what IDM nutters like Squarepusher spewed out. … this is one of the records of the year, so don’t you miss it.” – Chris Cobcroft at 4ZZZ FM.
  • “The quintet are so comfortable working with jazz, folk music, post-rock and electronic music that the track comfortably hangs in a space between them all.” — FACT Magazine on single “Jindabyne”.
  • “a provocative view of their chosen art form, and a bold soundtrack to our contemplations” – CP Khoo at theMusic.com.au reviewing a live performance at the National Gallery of Victoria.
  • “an exercise in beat-laden serenity” – Treble listing Stateless in their 10 Best Jazz Albums of 2016.
  • “Encompassing jazz, post-rock and electronic music, the quintet played two 30-minute sets of entirely improvised music. It was right up there with the likes of Four Tet – a delight to behold.” – Chris Komorek at theMusic.com.au reviewing a live performance at WOMADelaide, 2017.

Contact Tangents: mail at tangentsmusic dot com