XZICD is heavily focused on the meaning of memories, dreams, family bonds and if these are truly the characteristics which shapes us, all under a narrative thread that follows the album from beginning to end. ~Words by: Francisco Godinho (aka XZICD)
Heavily focused on the meaning of memories
“A celebration of all the genres I’ve worked on for over 15 years under a new light with different approaches, techniques and concepts brought onto the fold, while also being a loving tribute to family and friends, XZICD is my most personal album to date.
Whereas the previous album ɅVΟѺΟVɅ (Detroit Underground, 2020) explored ideas of transhumanism, of improving ourselves with the aid of technology, transcending our bodies and minds onto something beyond human; XZICD is instead heavily focused on the meaning of memories, dreams, family bonds and if these are truly the characteristics which shapes us, all under a narrative thread that follows the album from beginning to end, posing the question:
“If we were able to transpose all our memories and experiences onto a computer-generated simulation, would we still be the same person or someone else entirely?”
This question has extensive ramifications that go from existential ponderings, to how all our experiences and relationships shaped us as a person and the art we create, how that art becomes an extension of ourselves, if that virtual entity living in the simulation is actually us or a mere replica (if that even matters in the end), if relying on technology and artificial intelligences to preserve us isn’t actually going against our human nature, amongst many other musings that have always fascinated me while reading prominent science-fiction writers.
It was very important for me to be able to merge all these concepts and ideas musically speaking, while also re-exploring all the sub-genres I love working on in electronic music, making sure everything turned out as consistent as possible. A genre that is constantly evolving, mixing itself with pre-existing ones, giving birth to new unclassifiable hybrids, propelled by the fast evolution of technology, I soon felt the reluctance I had on such an undertaking quickly fading away, being replaced by giddy excitement and an opportunity to grow as an artist.
A lot of family home videos, commercials and movies taken from VHS and Betamax tapes were used on XZICD but instead of being used as is with little to no manipulation, they were loaded onto experimental samplers and sequencers turning them onto something unique, modern and slightly off but at the same time preserving that warmth and sense of familiarity only tape can deliver. This was the moment I realized the concept and fundamental question I posed with this album was becoming full circle with the music I wanted to make. All these faded memories and sounds being repurposed with new tools were becoming something else entirely, giving them new life, eternalizing them in the process with an emotional edge only music can spring.
The opposite was also explored on some tracks, where clean synthesized sounds and percussion from hardware and software usually composed with the aid of AI tools was being recorded onto tape loops making them feel older than they should’ve but emotionally off and not nostalgic at all, like a retro-futuristic dystopia coming straight at us like a freight-train. I took this opportunity to reuse sprinkles of sounds found on previous releases throughout the album, completely decayed and unrecognizable like a strange déjà-vu we can never fully grasp.
XZICD: chaos and order walking hand in hand ::
Something interesting also happened while composing this album. The prevalence of the number three was all over my life at that point. From three simple job gigs that showed up at the exact same time, to reconnecting with three old friends I hadn’t talked with in over three years, three relationship attempts that went nowhere, to a horrible recurring nightmare I had three times during a single week, to the number itself always showing up unexpectedly on the songs I was composing, amongst way too many occurrences to simply call it coincidence. I used this almost as an apparition from a mathematical deity to guide me on this album, making sure it was present on the vast majority of tracks: three songs with three distinct sections sharing the same DNA and sounds, three abrupt and violent interludes that feel like they belong to a different realm entirely breaking into our placid simulation, using sequencers with triangular shapes, generating sounds through images of pyramids and other fun methods.
This feeling of bewitching mathematical rigidity helped a lot on contrasting with the organic nature of the majority of sounds and melodies present on the album. After all, a mathematically perfect triangle represents a desire for order, something we all struggle with in life but rarely fully achieve, which is something I very much tried to replicate with XZICD: chaos and order walking hand in hand. This album was also the perfect opportunity to invite both new and old friends to collaborate on a handful of tracks. I barely gave them any guidelines on what they should do with some of the sounds, loops, drums and synths I forwarded them because I knew immediately that they’d deliver something that would fit seamlessly with the overall mood and aesthetic of what I was working on. I only asked them to have fun. Low and behold, they went way above what I expected and created four unique pieces, full of hidden meaning and little details I only helped punctuate further, wrapping them up with an unsettling bow.
I finally used this album as a chance to create unique artwork for each song and a handful of videos, with the aid of Generative Adversarial Networks. Since the goal of these visual AI driven tools is to essentially merge existing pictures of everyday objects, animals and people onto unique abstract pieces, this felt like the right avenue to further explore all concepts and methodologies I wanted to express myself with musically speaking through a visual medium.”
XZICD is available on Bandcamp.
ɅVΟѺΟVɅ review July 2020 ::
