Album Review: Anicca by Teebs

It's been five years since Teebs , aka Mtendere Mandowa, released his impressive sophomore album E s t a r a - a record built upon glowing sweeps and patterns of electronic waves. Anicca is a further exploration of this hazy L.A. sound, stripping it back even further, peeling away the unnecessary layers to reveal a subtle, transcendent style. Spirituality is at the centre of this record - Anicca is one of the first steps in the Buddhist's spiritual progress towards enlightenment, a belief that everything, including the self, is constantly changing.

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Working as Teebs, producer Mtendere Mandowa developed a distinctive style of floating, dreamlike beatmaking, one that reflected the easygoing climates and warm breezes his Los Angeles environs. Following his 2014 album Estara, Teebs became a father and music took a back seat to parenthood for a time. Life lessons and personal experiences from the five years between new work inform his 2019 album Anicca, a warm and generous-feeling collection of Teebs' signature ethereal production and collaborations with like-minded peers.

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Teebs has always enjoyed collaborating, but for 'Anicca' he's gone through his impressive rolodex and filled the album with talent: Panda Bear, MNDSGN, Thomas Stankiewicz and Sudan Archives, to name a few, all appear. 'Black Dove' is a standout moment and features Sudan Archives - feeling less like collaboration and more like a symbiotic experience as both artists play on each other's strengths - but occasionally these distinguished guests get in the way of Mandowa's delicate, filigree productions. The artwork was also created by Mandowa: a stained glass window in which no matter the time of day one sees different colours and texture.

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