Instead of gazing fondly back upon half-remembered sounds from 20+ years ago, Build A Base takes command of these sounds, modifies them, and assembles them in a mélange that is potent, forward-looking (gasp), and peripherally linked to obsolescence only by virtue of being presented in cassette format that is itself outdated.
[Listen | Purchase] It should be evident from the video below for “Gestures” what audience Build A Base is ostensibly aimed at. The video is composed of close-ups of old architectural diagrams, jerky pans across neon wire-frame landscapes, snippets of out of date technical videos, all displayed in the same gauzy style meant to evoke obsolescence. Can you guess what the music sounds like? Anyone who’s had their ear to the ground in the past few years would probably say the same thing: synth. The video uses the same devices much nostalgic synth music does: recontextualization of moods and textures, and their inevitable and often dubious rearrangement.
Interestingly enough, though, the music tells a different story. Yes, “Gestures” does use synthesizers (…think more “Laughable Butane Bob” and less Emeralds), and yes, there’s a drum machine track that sounds like it’s from the 80’s. In fact, the entire song does sound somehow obsolescent, but in a way that doesn’t quite fit the video. The music and textures within are instantly familiar but at the same time put together in a fresh way. “Gestures” calls to mind the past without any cloying references to educational videos, VHS technology, or any other cultural dregs.
This is pretty impressive for one song, but 40 minutes of it is astounding. Over the course of Build a Base, Discoverer uses the same elements to concoct vivid compositions, ones that actually match the label’s pithy description: “Thick grooves, cosmic chords. Melodies materialize. Forty minutes of future spiritual road music.” Indeed, this is good driving music: Usually there’s a tinny drum machine playing its tireless lumbering loop, paired with sublime synths cascading and sliding all over the place. It is hypnotic in the same way good dance music is: once the music starts, it feels wrong to do anything other than dance.
Take the title track, for instance. Initially unassuming, the beat and thick bass stay in stasis as icy tones slowly trickle in from the background hum. Two minutes later, there is an explosion of beautiful, quivering high-register keyboard lines, dazzling for half a minute until they recede. The structure repeats itself once more, and before everything fades you’ve driven 6-miles in just as many minutes. Simple, right? Amazingly, the same formula is applied across all 8 songs, with no signs of diminishing returns. “Palm Tree Wallpaper” and “Video Haircuts” stun in the same way “Build A Base” does. Other standouts such as “Pet Telepathy” and “Remote Skillz” are structured differently, but still provide the same exciting synth-drum crossfire the others do.
The truly impressive aspect of Build A Base is that it has familiar reference points – out of date technology, recent nostalgic music, and so on – but the tape’s worth on its own is self evident, not relying on any of its aforementioned influences to prop itself up. Instead of gazing fondly back upon half-remembered sounds from 20+ years ago, Build A Base takes command of these sounds, modifies them, and assembles them in a mélange that is potent, forward-looking (gasp), and peripherally linked to obsolescence only by virtue of being presented in cassette format that is itself outdated. This tape is a masterful execution, absolutely confident, calm, and collected – a taste of slo-jam heaven.
Build A Base is out now on Overland Shark. [Listen | Purchase]
