Priori is part of a wave of musical talent coming out of Montreal, gaining particular momentum over the past three years.

A multifaceted producer and DJ, Francis Latreille has been operating under aliases and within collaboration projects for a number of years (ANF, Jump Source, M.S.L). But for me, Priori is the best of the lot. His debut album release On a Nimbus (NAFF, Sept 2019) quickly became my lockdown album at the start of the year.

This Hylo Series mix provides glimmers of the same, but goes a layer further as Priori guides you through a stretching and shifting cosmos. In what feels like an nod to yesterday’s vision of science fiction, we’re given rollers dusted with spatial and modular sounds, and circular patterns that feel almost orbital; perhaps best captured on Foaming Waves – Palomatic (Transonic Records, 1995).

But things don’t begin here, and the opening twenty minutes of the mix draw on a sound that has become synonymous with some of Priori’s Canadian counterparts. DJ Python and RAMZi are perhaps the best examples of this, but Priori chooses to use Brain Pilot – Disconnect (Nova Zembla, 1994) to create this surreal, chugging feel in the opening part of the mix. It ties into a common theme throughout as Priori litters the mix with tunes from that decade, painting us a futuristic 90’s sound.

The pace picks up with Ludwig A.F Rohrscheid – Reality (Exo Recordings, 2019) – a dreamy banger and the perfect backdrop to a sunrise set. But the mix is never allowed to simmer over and Priori is able to regulate with weightless rollers. Tracks such as Metric System’s ‘Studio 440’ (Kontakt, Remastered 2019) suspend time completely; but as you settle into these atmospheric spells and you let your eyes begin to blur at the sky, you’re reminded that the Earth still spins as Priori sends a series of shooting stars across the horizon, like Harmon Eyes’s ziz-zagging ‘Sensaesa’ (1995, Loop Records).

It feels like the mix has a very distinct closing section that nurtures a sense of clarity as gravity begins bringing you back down. The penultimate track is Priori’s own ‘Ani Ma’ (NAFF, 2019), which provides celestial solace to this two hour voyage.