A Psybreaks Masterpiece: Zymosis — Memento (2024)

This album is absolutely stunningMemento (2024) by Zymosisis an underrated psybreaks masterpiece. It honestly blew my mind when I first heard it, and I m excited to write about it. Dive into this reflective rollercoaster with me.

The entirety album focuses on one subgenre psychedelic breaks and it does it well. Psybreaks is a genre emerging from old-school breakbeat adapted into psychedelic dimension with inspirations from Goa and Psytrance. With this album, Zymosis raises the bar for modern psybreaks pretty high. The album name comes from Latin memento remember and it provokes deep reflection and takes you on an emotional rollercoaster through nostalgia, dramatic turns, deep reflection, and hope. Released onSentimony Records, Memento features cello by Dina Kononova on three of the tracks (2, 3, 8), and track 4 features Irukanji. Excellently mastered by Zymosis and Yurii Medved.

Highlights of Memento

The hardest part of writing this review is choosing the highlights. The whole journey through Memento is packed with top quality tracks and dramatic turns. I think I will start with the first track, A Way Away. It starts with a light piano arp which immediately makes me feel like I m floating, and then it stops and I m suddenly submerged into this hypnotizing bassline accompanied by masterfully glitched breakbeat and a cacophonous yet beautiful synths. The angelic vocal is accompanying me further, there is this feeling of calm, until we hit another buildup full of dramatic sounds and driving bass. The track ends almost abruptly, leaving me hungering for more.

Another track I would choose is Kiss Me Goodbye. It opens with intricate breakbeat rhythm and cello, and then it takes a dramatic turn when an acid-like synth comes in, beautifully entwined with the broken rhythm. Later we get a moment of relaxation before the next buildup, and near the end the breakbeat comes back an emotional bassline, it reminds me of a dramatic fight where we re fighting someone or something maybe it s ourselves, to let someone go? At the end of the track, the cello comes back to soothe our nerves.

One more track I want to write about is Never Last. The track opens with a delicate atmospheric buildup and hits you with an aggressive bassline. Combined with heavenly vocalizations appearing further in the track it gives this sense of relaxation, and track resolves beautifully with music box-like sound. I really don t want to spoil any more of the details, especially because words won t do justice.

Zymosis s Legacy and Evolution

Zymosis is a psychedelic music duo from Ukraine that’s been shaping the psy-electronic scene for two decades. They ve built a strong name for themselves by blending psytrance, ambient, and downtempo into something that feels both deep and otherworldly. Their music has always been about expanding consciousness and taking listeners on a real journey. Albums like Between Two Points (2012), Insight (2017) are already psychill classics. In Timeless (2020) they started including a stronger breakbreat theme and now they hit a pinnacle with Memento. Although each of their previous albums had hits in them, I think this one is their biggest album so far, and yet I feel so underappreciated in our community.

Final Thoughts

Memento is definetely a strongly underrated psybreaks album, one that s left a mark on me. Probably the best execution of psybreaks I ve heard so far, driving yet leading into relfection. It s also very cohesive. Overall, it s an unforgettable experience will Zymosis ever beat that record?