REVIEW: Dusqk - Sanctuary OS

Impeccable robot girl drum 'n' bass screensaver makeover, if that's what you, uh, need!

47:15 // January 11th, 2025 // self-released

Let us paint you a picture. We are in space, on a sofa. The space station that we are in contains many sofas and is used chiefly for lounging, in space. The two of us are on board, both literally and otherwise: Jesper likes dreamy stuff that dreams very hard (or soft but still erect); Hugh likes just about anything that takes him back to those halcyon days of getting his vistas stretched by the Nier Automata OST. Neither of us necessarily understands or cares where the other is coming from, but this is okay because we are brought together by a shared wavelength in the form of Dusqk’s Sanctuary OS (sub-wavelengths of which include atmospheric drum and bass, featherweight ambience, and a lot of nondescript haze).

Now, the inspiration and setting for Sanctuary OS are allegedly that of a literal Operating System idling without any software open, but sanctuaries can be many things to many people and Dusqk reinforces this notion with endlessly malleable soundscapes that will sustain practically anything you dream them to be. Things get upbeat, things get downbeat: however, crucially, things are quote-unquote ethereal the entire time (this is even more of a priority here than it was on Dusqk’s earlier records Heaven/EXE (2023) and Gaia/RAE (2024), both of which trend more kinetic). Though the best encapsulation of the album’s nostalgic screensaver impression comes early on with “Sanctuary 3”’s wistful greatest hits of vintage hold-call music (laudatory!), its ethereality reaches some seriously impressive heights on the violently blissful eleventh track, “Sanctuary 10” 🥰. Its bassy patterns settle into the most peaceful groove of all time, while allowing the hazy bleeps transport the song into the stratosphere.

These two tracks exemplify the album’s strengths — as music all but explicitly intended for background consumption, it does exactly what any worthwhile record of that brief does and elevates whatever experience you apply it to. This withstands the occasional, overly passive lull (see “Sanctuary 7”’s arrangement is too frictionless for words) and/or wider snag (see “Sanctuary 4”’s stuttering drum pattern). Above all, Dusqk’s knack for a good motif and genuinely cleansing ambient production prove hot commodities in a sea of kitsch and plastic: atmospheric drum and bass is often at its best when it trends old school, but Sanctuary OS offers some solace to those hoping for more on the fiercely-digital end of the spectrum. Is there more to add? Space sofas: they’re a good time, as is Sanctuary OS. Join us?

7/10

Further listening:

Dusqk – Heaven/EXE
Dreamweaver – Blue Garden
Prayer – Dream of Heaven
Soshi Takeda – Floating Mountains