REVIEW: Temple Rat - Some Leaves Must Fall [Buttheads]

Emerging as a fresh voice in the electronic music scene, Yuxin Mei alias Temple Rat debuted on Siamese Twin Records (Bangkok, Thailand) in 2023 with The Composition of Air. Three years later, her second EP titled Some Leaves Must Fall is now out as the inaugural release of Martin Gilleshøj’s nascent Buttheads label (Copenhagen, Denmark). 

Here, Temple Rat explores the “certainty of space and the uncertainty of time” through field recordings from urban and natural spaces spanning between modern Berlin and traditional Sichuan. This interlacing of the familiar and mystical or the interconnection of western and oriental textures is becoming a signature of her productions. The artwork of Some Leaves Must Fall resembles two cells or entities energetically dancing around each other, almost fusing as one. A Chinese leaf thoughtfully accompanies each vinyl record. Indeed, some leaves must fall in the cycle of transformation and regeneration.

Temple Rat defines the premise of the EP with a two-and-a-half minute intro. Sichuan invites us into a space where we can meet the next tracks, as if enveloped by ancient walls. What is the composition of air in such a place? We start to perceive the beginnings of a red thread in her releases, one of probing spatial memories and acoustic environments. 

Snake Dreams unfolds from a static silence like that of faint rainfall, before a galloping rhythm heads into the echoes of a distant gong. A subdued drum kick, and intermittent offbeat bleeps make their presence heard. Within the seven-minute track, Temple Rat builds the tension with trumpet-like expressions that pre-empt a consistent energetic beat. In just one track, she already has us imagining an entire set.

Moon Cave leans towards the more hypnotic side, with those playful yet intricate details that put us in a spell. Keeping a steady beat and introducing us to chanting voices and echoing bells, Moon Cave has us committed. Temple Rat brings the organic and human elements into the picture in such a natural way that it invites us to go deeper.

But then Elsen Bridge releases us, presenting as an interlude of everyday sounds weaving into a blissful web of calming notes whizzing past. This allows for that moment of conscious breath we all need from time to time. That is, until Cloud Ladder hits our eardrums, resolutely whirring in on a helicopter. Multiple layers of rhythms commence with such force sure to heat up any dancefloor. The EP closes with Fly! My Paprika that playfully brings together whispers of the past tracks. While denser in sonic range, there remains a gentle swaying and guiding tintinnabulation through until the end.