GARETH PSALTIS - In Her Reflection (Uncanny Valley)

GARETH PSALTIS - In Her Reflection (Uncanny Valley - UVMC 07)

Gareth Psaltis is an Australian electronic music producer based in Berlin, with releases on labels including London’s Brokntoys, Southern Italy’s XCPT and Dresden’s Uncanny Valley.

Originally from Sydney, he emerged through the city’s techno scene, developing an improvisational approach centred on hardware instruments. During this period, he also co‑directed the label Deep Seeded Records and helped promote events within Sydney’s underground network.

After relocating to Europe in 2018 and facing new physical constraints, Psaltis shifted towards an in‑the‑box workflow. His current practice blends obscured samples, field recordings and synthesis in a collage‑driven process that draws from drum and bass, industrial, illbient, IDM, post‑punk and wave.

Since settling in Berlin, significant changes in his personal life have also shaped his music. With three albums behind him, he has moved towards a more focused and reflective artistic direction — a shift marked not only by an evolution in sound but also by his decision to retire the Barking alias and release under his own name.

With IN HER REFLECTION, Australian-born Gareth Psaltis steps into a new chapter. Formerly releasing music under the moniker Barking, the Berlin-based producer now presents his most personal work to date under his full name, marking both an artistic and emotional shift. It’s his first release on the long-running Dresden-based label Uncanny Valley, which is venturing into uncharted territory with this release.

The album signals a clear move away from the analogue-synthesis foundations of his earlier output towards a more fragmentary, collage-like approach. Samples drawn from obscure jazz and Greek folk records intertwine with everyday field recordings, framed by jungle rhythms and ambient drift, but also post-punk-informed basslines, wave and jazz structures. The result is music that feels intimate yet open-ended, rooted in club culture while quietly pulling away from it.

Written over the past one to two years, IN HER REFLECTION mirrors a period of profound change in Psaltis’ life. Navigating the isolation and uncertainty of living in Berlin, the process was shaped by his wife’s pregnancy and the birth of his first daughter, experiences that brought new forms of connection, grounding and belonging. These themes surface most clearly on the title track, which also marks the first appearance of Psaltis’ own vocals, reflecting on transformation, vulnerability and closeness.

Balancing introspection with rhythmic precision, IN HER REFLECTION is not a reinvention but a refinement, an album that embraces subtlety, memory and emotional resonance and positions Gareth Psaltis firmly within Uncanny Valley’s distinctive catalogue. Tip!

The eight tracks form a coherently sounding album that is best visualised by the unique artwork by Carl-Johannes Schulze, one of the label heads.