Urlaubshits

I have to admit I’m a bit slow off the mark with this one (having come out all the way back in March), but a cursory glance at The Hype Machine tells me that nobody seems to have posted anything from this fantastic EP, so here it is.

Joakim’s Tigersushi label has a history for releasing music of a challenging nature, but DyE’s Imperator EP occupies a whole other realm. It’s a strange record; it’s short running time (about 15 minutes over five tracks) leaves you expecting more, but the myriad of nuances and ever shifting moods create a listening experience which is much fuller than the EP’s length belies.

The opening track, “Imperator” begins with the kind of trademark Gallic analog synths which often characterise much of Tigersushi’s roster, but after only a few seconds it launches into a full drum machine assault, dropping heavily compressed beats which combine to create the sound of Principles Of Geometry jamming with Mr Oizo. It’s syncopated rhythm sounds something like dubstep, but with a singularly bleak atmosphere; it has almost no melodic element apart from a solitary synth which never resolves itself, hanging in space. “Star Vac” which follows it is soothing by comparison, starting with a cleansing analog wash and a much simpler 4/4 beat. It may start out sedate, but its narcotic nature is doubled half way through when the tempo slows, and the whole thing takes on the form of a twisted sci-fi instrumental lullaby.

“Neige 606″ is the only track on the record which you could say is straight up dance music; it’s a simple acid house affair, but its flanged rhythms give it a futuristic sheen which compliment the other tracks perfectly. After the short interlude “Dark White”, the EP closes with “Hye This Is Michael Jackson”, a track that probably would have been considered bad taste had it been released after his death, primarily because it doesn’t eulogise him. Rather, the odd nature of the music and speech together reflect what a strange character he had become. Mainly though, the inclusion of his voice on this EP only serves to highlight (despite the relatively concise nature of the tracks on offer), how far removed from pop music any of this completely alien record is, almost as if DyE is intentionally positioning himself against it, which in his case, proves to be no bad thing.

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