Shinichi Koboyashis music as Bot1500 has such a beautiful signature to it. Using the layers and language of ambient IDM, artfully arranged pads & chords and crisp vectored breaks, hes been creating a beautiful and highly individual sound. The Black Sea, His first album since 2022s Surreal on AD93s sister label Lith Dolina, spaces things out more and focuses inward with a palette of minimalism and increased emotional resonance. Its been a focus for Shinichi across his self-published studio work in the last few years. The albums tracks feel increasingly rooted in the principles and logic of dub. Utilising more space, more silence, and more focus on the simplicity and elegance of the composition folded into radiant arrangements of melody, snare, shade and echo. The sea is both an inner landscape and a geographic image that hangs over the records mood. A dark humid summer night, like that on Japanese coasts. A small boat sails aimlessly. An eerie tone, but with a glimpse of beauty. The water is melancholic, enveloping, and endless. Each track is written at 140bpm save for last track White Flocks at 120, for the image of heading south to close out.