A glitchy, downtempo, ambient departure from the cacophonous dance party entries in Zebbler Encanti Experience’s pre-pandemic catalog, Syncorswim is a journey of the soul. Encanti’s stirring harmonic landscapes with Zebbler’s nature-inspired visual counterparts are a deeply felt response to a global encounter with death, isolation and the unfathomable resilience of love.

In March 2020, Zebbler Encanti Experience’s U.S. tour was cut short by the global pandemic. As Zebbler retreated to Boston, Encanti fled the United States the day before Scottish borders closed to lock down with his partner Catherine, on the wild west coast of the moody and remote Highlands at Eagle Rock. With the material world peeled back to expose the bare bones of existence, Syncorswim is a meditation on the myriad faces of love in a silent world gone mad with fear and loss. Each song is an emotional destination, a freeform concert created in the vacuum of a literal wilderness, performed for an audience of one.

Encanti revels in the authentic expression of live performance instead of relying as much on post-production editing throughout the album. All synth sounds on Syncorswim are cuts from live jams on the OB-6 analog synthesizer, bringing a warm and personal touch to the fabric of the production. Encanti also designed his own custom software, the Refractalizer, to create the granular textures heard throughout the album. The resulting convergence of analog synthesis and customized digital time-stretching gives this album a unique profile.

Zebbler created a 4K visual counterpart to each track, taking pride in personally recording all of the footage used. He set out to capture the landscapes and sensual morphology of America’s wilderness and heartland with his girlfriend Leah. The visual narrative constructed alongside the music production is a series of meditations on the strange beauty of our planet, from the smallest speck of sand to vistas spanning hundreds of miles and everything in between. It is also a celebration of survival and love … Zebbler proposed to Leah halfway through this trip, under the world’s tallest tree deep in the redwood forests of California. And she said yes.

Syncorswim is the sound of silence, and of stillness in motion. It has unseen depths and illusions that mature with repeat plays. Recommended listening is on headphones or a nice sound system, and with videos in high definition. For this album, the experience is intimate.