It is curious to come across old ideas in new and strange forms. Eric Lau, a young London producer enjoyed by the likes of Gilles Peterson, has crafted a stunning mix of old and new musical traditions on New Territories, his first full-length. An R&B slowjam on par with D’Angelo, Lau admits that the album title contains a double meaning. The title is indicative of his desire to strike off in new musical directions, but the term “New Territories” is also the name of the Hong Kong district Lau’s family is from and visits often. It’s filled with mountains, villages, farms and coastline, and Lao gently tries to evoke these sounds in his music, creating a sort of Asian Sound of Music meets Mariah Carey’s Glitter. In a bygone age, New Territories would be described as a pastoral, an ode to nature, innocence and big R romanticism. As it is, on tracks like “Don’t Let Them,” Lau rides a lovelorn sense of nostalgia across a backdrop of urban living as far as the cross-town bus will take you.