Thomas Wincek operates in a number of disparate projects, usually behind a keyboard with any number of synthesizers and effects alongside him. As a member of indie projects Field Report and Volcano Choir—both of which boast several standout Wisconsin musicians—Wincek might contribute a melodic keyboard line, often adding electronic textures and sonic intricacies that push these projects beyond songwriting and musicianship. Under the moniker Emotional Joystick, Wincek has recorded a catalogue of breakbeat-centered electronic music—an erratic, unhinged take on EBM. But on his latest self-titled release, The Desert Of The Real Itself, Wincek stretches his compositional plane into two thirty-minute sides, centering Korg Wavestations, sequencers, and vocal processors reminiscent of kosmische minimalism mixed in with ’80s synth programming. – Emili Earhart