'Songs from the Bath': Thor Rixon's new album is a sonic trip

Two years ago, Thor Rixon got South Africa's attention with the carb-free-diet-espousing track 'Fuk Bread'.

In the accompanying video - watch it below - Rixon shimmied in a shiny leotard while a crew of dancers shaved off his signature dreadlocks and moustache.

The single had 50,000 views on YouTube in the week of its release.

Songs from the Bath is the title of Rixon's latest album, a sonic trip combining instruments with electronica. It begins with The Drain, moves on to Puddles, and eventually culminates in The Bath.

The songs were neither recorded nor composed in a bathtub. "The title came to me one day, and I decided it would be the title of my next album," Rixon says matter-of-factly.

It took two years for the musician and producer to be satisfied with the seven tracks that make up his third compilation, following 2014's Tea Time Favourites and his 2013 debut Shared Folder.

WATCH the video music for Fuk Bread

Rixon was raised on a farm in Philippi, Cape Town, and traces of his musical beginnings - jamming in his garage with the band Sun-do Q'lisi - can still be detected in his eclectic sound. He studied electronic music production in Cape Town and later formed the production agency naas with his bandmates.

A serial collaborator, Rixon has in the past worked with rappers Push Push and Okmalumkoolkat as well as Ayanda, Umlilo and Inge Beckmann.

Songs from the Bath features four other artists. One of them is Neo Mahlasela, known to most music fans as Hlasko. The acclaimed experimental electronic music producer from Soweto sings in a high-pitched tone over the head-snarling, finger-snap-inducing opener The Drain.

"The words are all Neo," says Rixon. "But on the music side the song introduces the themes and style that make up the rest of the album."

Puddles, which features Itai Hakim on vocals, starts off slowly, but soon builds up into a thumping house track fit for a Black Coffee or Culoe De Song club set.

On Death Part 2 it is impossible not to hum along to Alice Phoebe Lou's gentle, infectious voice as she sings: "Where would you go to die? I would go to where the ocean meets the sky."

Rixon himself croons through Death Part 1, which comes after Part 2. He explains: "It was a sonically influenced progression that I wanted the album to have, but the lyrics on Part 1 is where the story begins."

The album takes a haunting turn on the poignant Softly in the Distance, featuring Olmo, then segues into the psychedelic A Surprising Interpretation of the Universe Expanding & Contracting.

The Bath, which closes the album, is a nine-minute monster track that reaches a thumping, melodic peak, then descends and fades, ending this brief but vast and cohesive musical expedition.

LISTEN to The Bath

•'Songs from the Bath' is available for streaming on Soundcloud.com and for purchase on iTunes.