MLTPLX explores a digitally-engineered environment of bass sounds and minimal glitches.
An album of pleasant unease
MLTPLX is one of the electronic aliases of producer Mikhaël Gautier. Some of you might know him as OP9 or Lumski. With MLTPLX, and in this new release from Detroit Underground, he explores a digitally-engineered environment of bass sounds and minimal glitches.
The album is quite evocative despite the apparent sparsity of tones. the self-titled album eases the listener in with two rather traditional tracks, “Insomnia” and “Microdub,” Traditional should be taken with a grain of salt—it merely means here that these two tracks rely more on repetition and regularity that what will be featured later. On that front, the title of “The Deep Dive” makes a lot of sense—it is from that moment that we become introduced to the deep intricacies of MLTPLX’s craft.
The palette of this album is quite vast, while revolving around a set of clear aesthetic choices. Sounds twist and concatenate above a background of dark pads and subtle kicks. In “Multiplex,” the machines chafe at the wheel and groan under the limits of the grid. “4eva” retains that sense of intensity but pairs it back instrumentally. “Choices are endless” is organised around micromanaged clicks and pops, a motif introduced in “Microdub,” where the simplicity of the melody and the pristine production are perniciously contaminated by these crackly artifacts.
Throughout this release, MLTPLX also mixes these cold and electronic atmospheres with more organic layers. “Flowers – Reload” features a beautifully melancholic vocal performance by Bonnie Li. The chorus “shine my blues” drives home this meeting of the humane and personal with the electronic environment. Two other artists are features, Musique de Nulle Part and Mr Smiff, and their contributions also participate is blurring the sonic borders of the album.
The general feeling of the album is of pleasant unease, a world in which it is easy to get lost into, yet with a deep-seated, untraceable sense of threat. Mikhaël is currently working on the live show which will be paired with this album, and no doubt that the visuals for it will be as compelling as the record itself. “LebrusQ” (video premiere below) is a tribute to the late Qebrus.
MLTPLX is available on Detroit Underground.
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