Pachyman & Mndsgn

Pachyman // Another Place // ATO Records

Over the course of four albums under his Pachyman moniker, Pachy Garcia has proven himself a dedicated craftsman working in the lineage of dub reggae. In a way, the Puerto Rico-born, Los Angeles-based musician had mastered the methodology of genre masters like King Tubby and The Scientist, using vintage gear, constructing glorious walls of sound, and developing an intuitive understanding of the power of repetition.

As the cult around his music grew, Pachy began to seek new motivation.

“I was thinking, How do I feel and how do I evolve with this project? How do I inject excitement and spontaneity in this process? I needed to break out of this formalist dub reggae purist mindset to find a more personal sound, create my own niche.”

If his past work, while indelibly Pachy’s own, was indebted to the masters of dub reggae, Another Place — his fifth album for ATO Records recorded, as ever, in his basement studio 333 House — is the moment when all of those debts are paid off. He leans into the idiosyncratic elements of past projects, synthesizing the myriad scenes that have recontextualized the methods and aesthetics of dub, from pioneering synth-pop weirdos like William Onyeabor and Yellow Magic Orchestra to Basic Channel’s amniotic dub techno.

“I was trying to understand who I am as a musician — not just operating in a distinct lineage but how I’ve metabolized and expanded upon it,” Pachy elaborates. “Who am I behind all of this? It’s a very personal, vulnerable journey. I wanted to build my own world and create these new connections in my brain, incorporating everything: vaporwave, chillwave, soul-jazz, James Brown, Kosmiche musik and krautrock, the driving repetition of drum n bass.”

Throughout Another Place, Pachyman delivers on this far-reaching vision — sonic easter eggs abound. “Berlin” pairs a pastoral, Boards Of Canada-cribbing organ sound with the kind of obscured, textural percussion that might suit a Berghain techno night. “In Love” is a joyful, egg-melting-on-the-sidewalk haze in the vein of Washed Out or Neon Indian. Meanwhile the cowbell-driven “Hard To Part” recalls the skeletal drone-funk of ESG — it’s an early contender for 2025’s best one note guitar riff.

It’s an alchemical mix, one that leans into Pachy’s unconventional musical journey, from playing in reggae and experimental rock bands in Puerto Rico to playing shows in and around the late, great LA noise-pop mecca The Smell as the drummer / vocalist for Prettiest Eyes.

Another element that deepens the album’s distinct personality is Pachy’s growing confidence and capability as a vocalist. Throughout Another Place, he implements a mantra-like repetition of improvised thoughts and snippets, tapping into unconscious anxieties and preoccupations that are bolstered with added harmonies and layers that wax and wane.

On the Slits-inspired “False Moves” (“I’ve always been into post-punk — it shares a working class, anti-establishment DNA with dub reggae”), the dystopian, introspective build is heightened by lyrics improvised in the alienating backdrop of the genocide in Gaza. It’s a fascinating, darker moment that refuses to hold anything back.

Let’s not get it twisted: while the experimental edges of Pachyman’s past work bleed through a little more boldly on Another Place, the anchoring energy is still very much dub reggae. “I journal a lot,” Pachy explains, “so I’m starting to realize that I get into cycles. Every December or January, at the turn of the year, I get back on trying to recreate the Channel One studio sound. Once the cold weather comes in, it’s always Reggae Christmas.”

The album opener “Calor Ahora” is the bountiful fruit of this yearly tradition. “The words were taken from a journal entry I made when I was on the verge of an anxiety attack and felt this oppressive cold,” he shares about the track. (He clarifies: “I know LA isn’t cold, but I’m from the Caribbean.”)

Paradoxically, Pachyman, despite his demonstrated and well-publicized love of repetition, hates repeating himself. With Another Place, he’s avoided that trap entirely: While tethered to his past work, the weird and vulnerable elements of his artistry come through loud and clear. Pachyman has, intentionally or not, made a record thoroughly in tune with the vision of early dub, tapping into a sense of wonder at the endless possibility of sound and rhythm with an unmistakably personal perspective.