Featuring raw/minimal electro and a smattering of old-school breaks, bass, dub, and technoid patterns, that even with its minimal approach, the artist’s talent for dark soundscapes and intricately layered heavy-hitters immediately strikes us.
The kind of release that doesn’t hold back
Having no preconceptions about this album other than the knowledge that anything on Schematic will be of a high caliber, Don’t Do Anything by Life As Sleep is a potent nine-track album that includes two closing remixes by Jonny From Space and 214 in addition to eight original tracks. The album produces a rough outer shell with its melodic moments buried deep in fissures drenched with low-end rhythms. Featuring raw/minimal electro and a smattering of old-school breaks, bass, dub, and technoid patterns, that even with its minimal approach, the artist’s talent for dark soundscapes and intricately layered heavy-hitters immediately strikes us.
This is the kind of release that doesn’t hold back, not even for an instant. Each piece, which alternates between skeleton uptempo and downtempo strains, is driven by evocative sound patterns that pique our interest with its nostalgic trajectory. “Yazzuo,” “Digitalis,” “Roro,” “Flescxing,” and the final remixes are immediate favorites. Although classifying this album as experimental wouldn’t be out of place, Life As Sleep effectively blends a number of genres into one creative whole—from sizzling, low-flying, and desolate electro to gritty dub techno extracts (“Back To That” and “Limbo”) and minimal drum machine workouts. Yet another reason why Best Of lists shouldn’t be published until after December.
Mastered to vinyl and digital by Stefan Betke at Scape Mastering. Cover art and poster design by Ty Davis.
Don’t Do Anything is available on Schematic Music Company. [Bandcamp]
