Melbourne-based DJ & producer Dead Memories stands tall in the shadows, crafting his own blend of introspective techno with clear nods to IDM. Reigniting a once lost love with electronic dance music, the eclectic and enigmatic producer decided to put his past to rest and become something new in the form of Dead Memories. Now, back in full swing, the artist behind the project is celebrating the release of ‘Atone’, his new 4-track EP for Subsist Records.
In EP opener ‘Atone’, dirty mechanics churn cutting through the haze and static, rolling on a throbbing, restless low end that parades listeners around between energetic hi-hats and faulty wiring. Meanwhile, sparse synths flicker without control, intensifying with each passing beat as we traverse through the entrance to the netherworld. Follow up ‘In Fields’ conjures a denser fog and broken beats emerge, treading through the damp ambiance. Here, an infectious sequence latches on, following harrowing voices that echo, lost behind a wall of interference, like clear-view memories one will never reach again, only to be pulled back to the entrance by a skittish low end that runs like a treadmill we’ll never best.
At the halfway line, ‘Crying Skies’ paints erratic sequences that float suspended like embers, giving way to a powerful, fragmented frame. With extreme care, each sonic blip disintegrates into the ether, setting off a chain reaction that triggers the next one. It’s chemistry in motion, and a bittersweet affaire that washes down from the heavens in corrosive fashion.
For its part, the closing act ‘Echo Hymn’ ebbs and flows caught in time before poignant keys strum, intensifying their echoing wail, submerged in sorrow as it breaches both past and present, lingering in the air forevermore. A never-ending sequence that stands between bliss and pain, wasting away until we’re left with dead air space.
Dead Memories’ ‘Atone’ EP is out now via Subsist Records. Purchase your copy here.
