There’s dance music made for dancefloors. Boom-tic-boom-tick, or boom-tic-doo-doo-tah, or … You know the drill. It’s fun to dance to. DJs can mix it. But it can feel predictable, even in its best manifestations.

Then there’s dance music made for the world beyond the dancefloor. Take, for example, Italian producer Nicolò’s new record Ssambe, out now on Hank Jackson’s anno imprint. It’s not that this record wouldn’t work in a club. In the hands of the right DJ—a skilled one with a twisted sense of rhythm—it could be lethal. But what’s beautiful about it is the hypnotic and head-spinning universe that unwinds across its three tracks.

The record is a confusing mix of pulses, beats, and tones. My favorite moment comes three minutes into “Fakedrums.”  Its gyrating rhythm slaps you around. At first it's confusing and unsettling, but it's ultimately soothing and delightful. There’s a beauty in this music’s strange, steady propulsion. To simply call it “club music” feels a little dirty. So we won’t call it that.