Christian and Roland Dormon arrive to Atlanta-based Clean Error Records for their latest release as Multiplex, and their labelmates give them a welcome-to-the-neighborhood basket brimming with solid remixes.
Craftsmanship, atmosphere, and restraint
As a duo, the brothers have long collaborated without being on the same continent; volleying tracks back and forth over the Atlantic for one another to complete. It’s anyone’s guess as to how different their sound would be if they shared space, but the results are always polished and reliable—they’ve got a system, and it works for them. Over the years, a wide assortment of third-party celebrities have remixed them, and the attention is warranted.
While Multiplex’s versatility and assured artistry are well established across their catalog, Human, I Love You feels less concerned with charting new territory than with refining and celebrating the strengths they already possess. In a genre where production prowess and technical detail often take center stage, emotional resonance can sometimes be harder to bring into focus. Yet on this release, that balance appears intentional. Rather than chasing novelty for its own sake, the duo seem content to let craftsmanship, atmosphere, and restraint guide the experience.
The title track is an anthem of braindance melancholy; one that approximates emotional content without overindulging. It features some gorgeous embellishments draped over a sputtering hive of percussion and arpeggios. It is an outstretched hand—slapped away by sterile indifference rather than cruelty (see ‘emotional content’, above). “Synchron2” goes sub-level with an electro groove primarily focused on depth and atmosphere. Stray bolts of neon ricochet among a heavy landscape of piledriver rhythms, and after 3 minutes you’re back in line to ride it again. “Why Dont You Love Me” is a late-night, pack-your-bags, roll-the-credits dream sequence. Hi-rez chords pulse and breathe alongside a restrained rhythm track, making space for groove and mood before fizzing out into 4-bit oblivion. “Myth and Science” is this decade’s Tangerine Dream sequence; a meditation with a subdued beat framework; laced up with a couple patch cables and adorned with lush pads of synth. For all the atmosphere it establishes, it is regrettably brief—almost as if it was built as a sound cue for film.
At this point the factory walls fall away to welcome six “Human, I Love You” remixes, which expand the view considerably. Like a seasoned crew of archaeologists, each contributor uncovers some new details to build upon—or scramble mercilessly.
The remix from label-head enabl.ed gets to the glittering spinal column of the subject, sanding it down to the roots in a beautiful, breakbeat web. Next, Tenant 7 offers a well-placed breather by turning off the drum machine entirely. Multiplex’s source material is left to wander a fluorescent landscape barefoot under a claustrophobic haze of heavily treated wind instruments. If there is a heart to this album, albeit synthetic, it is here. Abruptly, the CPU boots up again to generate “The Both And Remix,” which stumbles aggressively through the door, buzzing like a mech-squito—teetering on hydraulic stilts in a truly unhinged search for blood. rinse.repeat’s remix sweetens the tone with a poly-melodic, Plaid-inspired daydream of LED fireflies and soft-shoe breakbeats. Stepping stones of warm bassline guide the listener along, until remixers WONKS suddenly turn the pathway into a Twister mat. A confounding sound collage more than a dancehall whistle-blower, this mix lays disassembled on the floor, still operating with auxiliary power and too unruly to fit back together.
Low Battery Orchestra’s submission is an urgent final output for the album. Like most of the remixes here, there is—at best—only a passing nod to the original song (an approach championed decades earlier by Aphex Twin). This mix intently spins off-axis in a padded cell while chord vapors hover above, like hands trying to comfort a manic child during an episode. The result is beautiful and unsettling, in the spirit of Bogdan Raczynski’s early albums on Rephlex.
Human, I Love You offers a focused snapshot of Multiplex’s work—showcasing polished production and a collection of strong tracks. While the Dormon brothers have explored more adventurous territory throughout their decades-long career (see suggestions below), this album remains an easy recommendation on its own merits. Rather than serving as a definitive statement of Multiplex’s range, it highlights one facet of their sound and leaves listeners curious to explore further. In that sense, the album’s greatest strength may be the way it brings together a talented cast of remixers, whose contributions add fresh perspectives and help round out the experience.
Recommended Multiplex: You’ve Been Dreaming Again, Momensch, and XPAND.
>>> /TERMINALSEED/release/HUMAN_I_LOVE_YOU.push // status: PENDING
>>> handshake initiated… █▒█▒█▒ OK
>>> WARNING: emotional signal detected in machine output
>>> checksum mismatch: humanity found in circuitry
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Human, I Love You (w/ Remixes) is available on Clean Error. [Bandcamp]
