"Nothing Against The Ocean" is the debut CD of Set In Sand, licensed by Hue (JAPAN) from Abandon Building Records (US). Set in Sand (one of the many aliases of producer Lendin Hopes) was brought into this world around 2000, originally designed as a purely electronic and instrumental project working within the nether-regions of IDM. Early Set in Sand creations followed the blueprint for experimental electronic song crafts, disjointed percussion and glitchy filtered melodies with subtle instrumentation and vocal samples offering a hint of things to come. Two net releases came out in this vein, the self released "Are You Listening EP” and the full length "You Say You Can’t Sleep Alone" by German label Subsource. Around 2004 Lendin reconnected with his singer-songwriter roots, adding acoustic guitar and vocals to a large portion of his compositions. Examples of this style can be found on the net release "Mini Splintered Things" hosted by the good folks at Drift Records. In addition to these three net releases Set in Sand has contributed songs to a number of compilations including “Assemblage Sessions 1 and 2 CD’s” (Abandon Building), “Subvaritrax” (Subvariant), “Ctrl-Space” (Modsquare), “The Karaoke Hymnal” (Peppermill Records) and “Calderas of the Mind” and “Heart on the Right Spot” ( Project Mooncircle/ Botanica Del Jibaro). Set in Sand is also the producer for the whacky Hip Hop duo Flowtation Addvice (who’s debut “Terrain Clouds” is due out on Abandon Building in early 08.)
With “NATO” Lendin has synthesized all the elements of his early work into a weird piece of sonic experimentation masquerading as a sort of Pop album. Half of the albums 8 songs feature vocals, a surreal blend of androgynous singing and hyperactive MC work. The music is based around skeletons of guitar and programmed beats with multiple layers of digital nonsense wrapped around them. A most distinct touch is Lendin’s use of live drums in complimentary patterns over the grounding electronic percussion. It results in a blurring mesh of chaotic calm, establishing a kind of fresh voice in the world of beatmaking. In other words it’s pretty decent stuff.