At the end of 2008, I was fully convinced that there could not possibly be any other way to exploit the classic “continuous build” model for a track. (The one where a seemingly endless upward pitch bend serves as the fundamental element of the track) Though I can’t quite pinpoint the exact moment, there was some point in time between the releases of MSTRKRFT’s VUVUVU (one of the first to employ the style) and Sebastian’s Motor (the ultimately simplified and most watered down version of it possible) wherein the repetitiveness of the tracks led us all to assume that someone must simply have leaked the book of electronic music formulas, and that innovation was no longer an important part of music production.
Unfortunately for us (and mind you, when I say us, I’m referring to us tasteful folk to whom disco expands beyond the confines of a mere genre), the bedroom producers of the world took an extraordinarily long time to catch on to the lack of a market for this kind of work, and so for nearly the entirety of last year, all but a select few have been flooding the net with their obnoxious 4 bar pitch bends and nearly drowning our ears in an onslaught of overplayed sound.
With all this in mind, one must admit it seems a task of epic proportions to be able to create something derived from this same style, and at the same time keep it interesting and new within its small corner of a sub-genre. In fact, being the skeptic that I am, if you’d asked me a few weeks ago, there’s a good chance I would have dismissed it as impossible, however, this new wave digital underground of ours never fails to prove me wrong.
Motor
Despite the fact that their entire single (appropriately titled “Death Rave”) consists of nothing more than a series of escalations and drops, Dim Mak’s newly signed artist, Motor (and no, as far as I know, there is no connection between the artist and the aforementioned Sebastian track), has ripped a whole new meaning into the word “banger.” I can’t possibly explain where on earth the sounds they’re getting come from; perhaps their strange location (half Paris, half New York City), brought forth a sort of convoluted set of influences. Or perhaps they’ve just got a thing for making hipsters feel compelled to rip their hair out in a confused state of ecstasy. Either way, they’ve challenged the devil and accomplished the impossible, and their music is the evidence. Brace yourself: Death Rave brings a whole new meaning to the word “disgusting.”
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Watch for the release of their record “Metal Machine” this Tuesday on Dim Mak Records.
