Akasha System

Hunter P. Thompson channels his “eco-techno” vision through the Akasha System alias, distinct from the ambient and new age work he records as Opaline and the deep house tracks he produces as DJ Panthr. The 2019 album Echo Earth typifies the project with its dubby house rhythms and dense chord layers, frequently incorporating field recordings captured from the natural world. Thompson has sustained the endeavor through later releases, among them the comparatively active 2023 album Phytopia.

He first appeared on tape in 2012 with the luminous, crystalline ambient cassettes issued as Opaline. In 2015 he introduced Akasha System via a limited, handmade cassette that introduced pulse to his already rich tonal language. The digital EP Mixed Signals surfaced in 2016 together with the cassettes Twin Optic and Vague Response, the latter released by 100% Silk. Three further 2017 titles—digital EPs Colour Theory and Swingman plus the 12-inch Shadow Self on Elestial Sound—followed in quick succession. After issuing the self-released digital EP Temple Images in 2018, Thompson tracked his debut album at his Portland home; Echo Earth arrived on 100% Silk in 2019 and was paired at the same time with the companion cassette EP Echo Lost. He simultaneously began issuing more dancefloor-oriented material under the DJ Panthr name.

During 2020 he self-released the Epoch Flux EP, the remix collection Echo Versions, and the full-length Geomind. The 2021 schedule brought the Ancient Path EP and the album Deep Sea Transmission, the latter prompted by Ian Urbina’s book The Outlaw Ocean. A handful of standalone tracks appeared across 2022. After relocating to Tampa, Florida, Thompson returned to 100% Silk in 2023 with three projects: DJ Panthr’s Jade District LP in April, followed in May by the Akasha System albums Phytopia and the Ancient Path Complete cassette.