In my opinion, the stuff coming out of the Sun Sea Sky label is mix-worthy music that’s pleasingly light on the ear. Familiar and fun. Future Hope, from Russian artist Oleg Mokhov, adds to that ongoing lineage. From the first bubbly, swiped-from-the-80s notes of the title track, Mokhov sets out to get you moving—and succeeds. Calling on a library’s worth of jazzy drum loops to keep its fresh beats rockin’, Future Hope will ping memories of all your favorite chillout tracks. Meaty, pulsing bass lines anchor it all. Check the reggae-influenced strut strolling over wavering chords in “Golden Waves.”   Or the pure jazz feel of it on “Love Gravity.” This track offers some sweet breaks that remind me of  Deepfried Toguma. “Soul Breeze” flaunts a sassy little R&B sensibility with an “Amen break” style drum loop and more of that oh so delicious bass.  Mokhov slides the drums and bass to the front around the 1:30 mark for an aww yeah moment. There’s a lot to like here and it just keeps coming. Yes, it risks being too familiar and sounding somewhat the same, but a) it’s only 40 minutes long and b) you’re going to end up shuffling this into some kind of feelgood/retro playlist anyway. Future Hope is, at the moment, the thing I hit “play” on my I need a mood boost—or just a reason to do a little chair dancing. Give it a listen. It’ll catch you, too.

Available from Sun Sea Sky.