Cut Out Shape

Xian Hawkins (aka Sybarite) has been busy doing a lot of things, but making a new album is not one of them. After the release of his 4AD debut, Nonument, Hawkins found himself scoring an array of film and television projects for clients ranging from VH1 to Playboy and everyone in between. Temporarily diverted from following up Nonument, Hawkins instead took the time to focus on remixes and collaborations, contributing only a handful of new songs to various compilations and singles over the last four years. As it turns out, the long delay was good for him, as the Sybarite of today sounds remarkably fresh, with a wider range of tempos and more varied instrumentation than most electronic and dance artists. Hawkins has grown as both a composer and producer, and Cut Out Shape benefits greatly from the trees-before-the-forest work ethic that Hawkins has been experiencing since 2002. The attention to detail is startling, the product of spending four years on a set of songs with no specific destination in mind beforehand. As much as Cut Out Shape was originally designed to be more of a collection of loose ends, it grew into what is now Sybarite's finest hour yet.