SKYCABIN – AN ARTIST SPOTLIGHT & EP REVIEW
Photo Credit: Farbod Khoshtinat
By Ralph Beauchamp
Skycabin occupy a fascinating space within the alternative electronic landscape, bringing together the shadowy atmosphere of classic trip-hop with experimental electronica, alternative R&B and darker pop sensibilities. The California-based duo, Farbod Khoshtinat and Sepand Bahrami, have developed a sound that feels simultaneously cinematic, hypnotic and unpredictable. Drawing on the sonic legacies of Massive Attack, Björk, Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails, they favor richly layered production, unconventional arrangements and brooding melodies that linger long after the music has stopped. There is a distinctive tension in their work, balancing accessibility with an adventurous, sometimes unsettling approach to electronic music.
At the heart of Skycabin‘s sound is an instinctive appreciation for atmosphere and texture. Deep, pulsing basslines, intricate programmed percussion, distorted synths and haunting vocal performances combine to create immersive sonic environments that feel almost tangible. Rather than relying on conventional song structures, the duo allow their compositions to evolve organically, introducing unexpected shifts in rhythm, dynamics and instrumentation. Their music can move from restrained, intimate passages into expansive, abrasive electronic crescendos without losing its underlying melodic appeal. It is this willingness to experiment while retaining an unmistakable sense of identity that makes Skycabin such an intriguing proposition.
Their new five-track EP, COVET, released October 28, 2026, represents an exciting new chapter for the project. Returning to their primal creative partnership after previous treks involving outside musicians and vocalists, Khoshtinat and Bahrami have embraced a more personal and instinctive approach. The result is a collection that moves fluidly between breakbeat, industrial electronics, indie rock, dark house and alternative R&B, unified by an overarching atmosphere of longing and emotional uncertainty. Across its five compositions, COVET examines desire in its many forms, from romantic obsession and ambition to displacement, belonging and the complicated relationship between personal identity and the idea of home.
The individual tracks reveal just how versatile the duo have become. The title track gradually unfolds through understated vocals and measured instrumentation before distorted guitars introduce a more forceful emotional dimension. “Mirage” explores the impossibility of returning to a relationship that has fundamentally changed, while “Object of Desire” embraces a heavier, industrial-tinged sound with an intensity that recalls some of Nine Inch Nails’ darker electronic explorations. Elsewhere, “Midnight Ghost” juxtaposes melancholic introspection with an infectious dark-house rhythm, capturing the peculiar loneliness of feeling disconnected in a crowded social environment. Closing track “Hysteria” pushes the experimentation further still, combining frantic breakbeats, abrasive synth textures and increasingly urgent vocals in a thrilling, unresolved finale.
Ultimately, COVET feels like a statement of creative independence from a duo increasingly confident in their own artistic instincts. There is a compelling emotional depth beneath its electronic surfaces, particularly in the way the experiences of immigration, cultural displacement and the search for belonging inform the record’s exploration of desire. Yet Skycabin never allow these themes to become overly literal or predictable, preferring to communicate through evocative imagery, hypnotic rhythms and carefully constructed sonic contrasts. Their music inhabits the space between darkness and beauty, intimacy and distortion, melancholy and movement. With COVET, Skycabin deliver a bold and accomplished collection that both embraces the atmospheric heritage of trip-hop and pushes its possibilities into exciting new territory.
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