When songwriter and producer Damon Aaron debuted his strange yet alluring Ballast for Plug Research in 2005, he showcased his love of folk, DJ club, and soul dressed in glitchy electronics. It was lo-fi, yet succeeded. Aaron has been on the scene playing guitar, producing, and performing under a variety of guises; he’s also worked with hip-hop mystic Divine Styler and Los Angeles’ brilliant spiritual club jazz collective Build an Ark. On 2008’s Highlands, Aaron and his collaborators — including the wonderful violist and composer Miguel Atwood-Ferguson from Build an Ark — weave a romantic tapestry of sophisticated songwriting skill employing lithe, seductive, and heartfelt babymaker soul; sultry laid-back hip-hop beats; and old-fashioned synth effects with fingerpicked guitars, flutes, saxophones, and organic percussion. Check “Matinee” and “Fire” (which would make for a killer 45) that open the set. In each case, slippery beats, naturally heartfelt sultry vocals, achingly beautiful — and simple — lyrics, a well-placed flute solo, and delicate and ethereal synths and hand drums are accompanied by Aaron’s killer guitar playing that is equal parts Americana roots and Curtis Mayfield. The contrast between the tunes is gorgeous: the former is a midtempo ballad where a man remembers and pleads for the return of his lost love; the latter is a nocturnal, shimmering meld of skittering beats and electronics in service to Seduction. Atwood-Ferguson’s viola, played arco and plucked against the popping bassline and swirling keyboards, wraps the vocal in a cocoon of warmth and emotion. “Floating,” despite its spacy guitars and reverb-laden synths, is on the jazzy soul tip, with a crisp yet mellow hip-hop loop. “Clouds” is like Jeb Loy Nichols fronting an all-star combo from Massive Attack and the Dave Matthews Band popping through a soulful jazzy take on reggae. The Matt DeMerritt saxophone solo is dubbed on top of itself to twin the lines for the extra soul effect, and th..

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