By Azzam Bilal 
HangupsMusic.com – Philadelphia, The landscape of contemporary electronic music is often defined by its shifts between the ephemeral and the enduring, and few artists navigate this tension as skillfully as Brian Leeds. Known to many through his seminal work as Huerco S., Leeds has spent the better part of a decade deconstructing the boundaries of ambient, house, and techno. Now, the Philadelphia-based producer is set to return to one of his most beloved aliases with the announcement of a massive new full-length project. Under the Loidis moniker, Leeds will release From The Toolkit Of Lovers via the Brooklyn-based imprint Incienso on October 23rd. This ambitious 12-track collection is not merely a follow-up to his previous efforts but a sprawling, 110-minute odyssey that promises to redefine the artist’s relationship with the dancefloor and the meditative spaces between the beats.
The announcement marks a significant moment for fans of Leeds’ more rhythmic output. While his work as Huerco S. has often leaned into the hazy, vaporous realms of "outsider house" and avant-garde ambient, the Loidis project has historically served as a vehicle for a more structured, albeit no less hypnotic, exploration of minimal techno. From The Toolkit Of Lovers arrives as a successor to the critically acclaimed One Day, a record that solidified Leeds’ reputation for crafting club music that feels both physically grounding and intellectually stimulating. By doubling down on the length and depth of his compositions, Leeds appears to be challenging the standard constraints of the modern electronic album, opting instead for a format that rewards patience and deep immersion.
Described by the label as a "meditation on life, love, and dub," the new album is designed with a dual purpose. While it functions as a cohesive home-listening experience, the tracks are specifically engineered for the utility of the DJ. The 110-minute runtime is comprised of extended versions and "long blends," providing selectors with the breathing room necessary to weave the tracks into expansive sets. This focus on functionality does not come at the expense of artistry; rather, it highlights Leeds’ mastery of the "toolkit" metaphor. In this context, the tools are the rhythmic pulses, the delay-drenched textures, and the subtle modulations that have become his signature. The lead single, "Towlift," which is currently available for preview via Bandcamp, offers a glimpse into this philosophy, featuring a steady, propulsive energy that slowly unfurls over its duration.
The evolution of the Loidis alias has been a slow and deliberate process. Leeds first introduced the project in 2018 with the release of A Parade, in the Place I Sit, the Floating World (& All Its Pleasures). That EP signaled a departure from the dusty, lo-fi aesthetics of his early work, moving instead toward a cleaner, more surgical approach to sound design. It was a sound that felt deeply indebted to the classic era of Basic Channel and the minimal movements of the early 2000s, yet it remained distinctly Leeds through its emotional resonance and peculiar sense of space. With From The Toolkit Of Lovers, that aesthetic is expanded into a grander narrative, one that seeks to capture the complexities of human connection through the abstract language of dub techno.
Leeds’ move to Philadelphia has coincided with a prolific period in his career, during which he has balanced his various aliases with the management of his own label, West Mineral Ltd. Through West Mineral, Leeds has curated a specific corner of the experimental music world, championing a sound often referred to as "pulp ambient" or "ASMR techno." However, his relationship with Incienso—the label run by Anthony Naples and Jenny Slattery—remains a vital pipeline for his more club-centric explorations. Incienso has become a bastion for artists who refuse to fit neatly into genre boxes, making it the ideal home for a project as idiosyncratic as Loidis. The synergy between Leeds’ meticulous production and the label’s penchant for forward-thinking electronic music has consistently resulted in some of the most influential records of the last five years.
To understand the weight of the new Loidis album, one must look at the broader context of Leeds’ discography. His 2022 Huerco S. album, Plonk, was a masterclass in metallic, percussive experimentalism, stripping away the warmth of his earlier ambient works in favor of something more alien and challenging. In contrast, the Loidis material often feels like a return to the heart. The "toolkit" mentioned in the title suggests a collection of essential components—the building blocks of intimacy and rhythm. By framing the album as a meditation on love, Leeds invites the listener to find warmth within the repetitive, mechanical structures of techno. It is a reminder that even in the most synthesized environments, there is a pulse that is inherently human.
The decision to release a 110-minute album in an era of shrinking attention spans is a bold statement of intent. It suggests that Leeds is less interested in the fast-paced cycle of viral tracks and more interested in creating a world that the listener can inhabit. For DJs, the "long blends" are a gift, allowing for the kind of slow-burn transitions that define the best marathon sets in clubs like Berlin’s Berghain or Tokyo’s Contact. For the casual listener, the album offers a chance to get lost in the grain of the sound. The "dub" aspect of the record is particularly noteworthy; dub is a genre built on the idea of the remix and the manipulation of space, and Leeds uses these techniques to stretch time, making ten minutes feel like a moment and a moment feel like an eternity.
As the release date of October 23rd approaches, the anticipation within the electronic music community continues to build. Brian Leeds has proven time and again that he is a singular voice, capable of shifting the needle of underground culture with every release. Whether he is recording as Pendant, Huerco S., or Loidis, there is a consistent thread of curiosity and technical excellence that runs through his work. From The Toolkit Of Lovers appears poised to be his most exhaustive statement to date, a sprawling map of his current musical headspace and a functional manual for the modern dancefloor.
The inclusion of "Towlift" as the opening gambit for the album’s rollout serves as a perfect primer. The track’s steady evolution and its reliance on subtle shifts in frequency and echo demonstrate the "meditative" quality that the label has highlighted. It is music that demands to be heard on a high-fidelity system, where the nuances of the low-end and the crispness of the percussion can be fully appreciated. It also reinforces the idea that Leeds is an artist who values the physical experience of sound—the way it moves through a room and the way it interacts with the body.
In the years since his debut, Leeds has moved away from the "outsider" labels that initially defined his career, instead becoming a central pillar of the global electronic scene. His work is no longer seen as a fringe experiment but as a blueprint for how to bridge the gap between the experimental and the accessible. From The Toolkit Of Lovers is the latest chapter in this ongoing mission. By providing both the "toolkit" and the "meditation," Leeds is giving his audience the means to navigate the complexities of the modern world through the lens of sound. As the leaves begin to turn and the days grow shorter this October, the arrival of this 110-minute journey into dub and love will undoubtedly provide the perfect soundtrack for the changing seasons and the enduring pulse of the underground.
