Rejoicer - Energy Dreams (LP)

Tel Aviv producer Rejoicer has a gift for making psychedelic beat music feel alive in the hands. Energy Dreams, his debut album for Stones Throw in 2018, is the proof. These tracks are built from warm analogue synths, Rhodes keys and loose, human drum grooves that nod to hip hop and spiritual jazz at once. You can hear the hours logged in small studios and late night jam rooms, the fingerprints of players who know each other’s instincts. It is the sort of record that turns a living room into an after hours listening session, even if you put it on at lunchtime.

Rejoicer is Yuvi Havkin, a key figure in the Raw Tapes collective and a producer best known for his work with Buttering Trio. That background matters here. Energy Dreams moves with the casual telepathy of a band, even when it slides into heady, synth-led reveries. There is no chase for a big drop. Instead, the record leans into mood and melody, letting basslines slink and chords glow like streetlights after rain. On headphones you catch tiny details, like a hi-hat push that feels almost off the grid, or a tremble on a synth note that gives the whole thing a human pulse.

The guest list reads like a roll call of Tel Aviv’s modern jazz and soul scene. Pianist Nitai Hershkovits threads lyrical lines that hang in the air just long enough to sting, never showy, always in service of the tune. Vocalists Jenny Penkin and KerenDun float through several cuts with featherlight hooks and wordless coos, the sort that embed themselves after a couple of spins. Multi-instrumentalist iogi adds texture and groove, helping the record lean into that rare space where beat music breathes like a band. Even when the drums feel dusty and looped, you sense hands on skins and keys.

If you came up on Flying Lotus and the Brainfeeder milieu, or you still play Dilla instrumentals next to 70s Herbie Hancock, this album sits neatly on the shelf. But it is not pastiche. Rejoicer’s melodic choices pull from Middle Eastern modes as much as West Coast beat science, and the tone palette tilts toward warm psychedelia rather than neon glitch. The record keeps returning to simple, singable motifs, which makes it a surprisingly welcoming entry point if you are new to his catalogue. It also explains why Energy Dreams vinyl became a bit of a staff favourite in more than one Melbourne record store when it landed. It sounds right on wax, with low end that hugs and highs that never get brittle.

Stones Throw is a label with a long track record of letting producers build worlds, and Rejoicer takes full advantage. The sequencing is patient. Short vignettes blur into fuller tunes, and there is a through line that rewards playing the whole side in one go. That is where the album’s title starts to make sense. The grooves feel like little meditations, not sleepy but focused, tapping into a headspace that keeps you floating. It is deceptively easy listening. Then a subtle chord change or a sly bass run snaps you to attention, and you are back studying the sleeve notes to work out who played what.

For collectors, this is one of those modern instrumental records that earns its spot between your classic trip hop and your current jazz fusion. If you are hunting Rejoicer vinyl, Energy Dreams is the place to start, and it pairs nicely with his later Stones Throw releases. If you like to buy Rejoicer records online, keep an eye out for represses and clean secondhand copies, since his catalogue moves steadily. Shops that specialise in vinyl records Australia wide tend to file it in leftfield hip hop or nu jazz. Either way, it is a crate digger’s treat, the sort of album you recommend to a friend who loves grooves but wants something a little more cosmic.

The best test is simple. Put it on with people around. Watch how conversations relax and heads start to nod. Someone will ask what it is. That is Energy Dreams doing its work, quietly and confidently. If you are building a home for thoughtful beat music, this belongs next to your favourite Rejoicer albums on vinyl. And if you stumble on an affordable Energy Dreams vinyl pressing, do not hesitate. This one gets better the more you live with it.