In Spanish, the word estar means “to be,” but there’s more to it than that. More specifically, estar refers to where someone is at – physically or mentally – at a specific moment. Simply put, there’s nothing permanent about it, which is a big reason why E s t a r a is the perfect title for the second full-length album from Mtendere Mandowa, better known as Los Angeles-based producer Teebs.

In truth, the LP takes its name from the house where much of the record was created. Although Teebs visited a handful of beautiful studios in the hills of Los Angeles in the process of creating the album, he ultimately kept coming back to his modest bedroom studio and the same Fruity Loops-based set-up that he’s been using for years.

The new album finds Teebs returning to Flying Lotus’ genre-bending Brainfeeder imprint, and the music certainly doesn’t represent some kind of sea change in terms of his sound. When it comes down to it though, what’s changed is Teebs himself. His first full-length, 2010’s Ardour, was an effort that came together in the midst of personal turmoil and the death of his father. In contrast, E s t a r a was created during a period of relative calm; more importantly, the LP encapsulates a time when Teebs – who continues to work steadily as both a producer and a painter – has been making art entirely on his own terms.

Track list:

1. The Endless
2. View Point
3. Holiday (feat. Jonti)
4. Shoouss Lullaby
5. SOTM
6. Hi Hat (feat. Populous)
7. NY pt 1
8. Piano Days
9. Piano Months
10. NY pt 2 (feat. Prefuse 73)
11. Mondaze
12. Wavxxes (feat. Lars Horntveth)

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