The liner notes of Trace Element’s new album Human define the band’s moniker as “A chemical element required in minute quantities by an organism to maintain proper physical functioning.” In this case, the organism is their passionately composed music, while the required element is not so much chemical nor minute, but the human (hence the album title) presence integrated into these studio recordings as well as their improvisational live performances featuring the laptop acrobatics of Henry Hsiao and live violin of Laura “Violentfingers” Escude. The physicality of the music is revealed as each of Human’s nine tracks gracefully unfolds, exposing a greater inner strength enriched with digitally processed classical sensibilities with each animated movement.
“Soft Insanity” begins with crisp liquid effects and lush chords before a nice glitch groove is established, only to merge with electro beats and dubby bass while an innocent melody toils in the cinematic backdrop. The electro beats continue on “March,” and with every passing synth line and carefully crafted percussion effect, I begin to wonder if this is what the last Future Sound of London album should have sounded like. After the evocative vocal performance of Sara Marie Rauch on the arresting “Let Me Go,” the smoky jazz of “End of Summer” introduces Jeremy Powell’s sax, which performs an intricate seductive dance with the expressive vocals of Eluv that flows with every step. “Miles Away” brings back the dub electro vibe, complete with a pinch of battle-style scratching challenging the sax out on the dance floor only to let us decide the winner.
The head bobbing rhythm of “Krunche” that glides along silky violin notes makes me think this must be where Trace Element let the improvisation loose in their live set before cooling the pace down with the warm exotic sounds of voice and violin performing another attractive dance in “Yin and Yang.” “Merce” brings the electro back for one last dance with multicolored gyrating synths looping in and out of abstract geometrical shapes that generate a cohesive form while the operatic vocals of “Dread” gently close
Human with a new definition of digital arias that would bring a wide smile to Malcolm McLaren’s face. I anticipate that with Human, Trace Element will definitely appeal to anyone looking for some original sounds, and most definitely win them over with their live shows. Having recently joined the excellent Fateless Flows collective, I’m sure this isn’t the last we’ll hear from them, and I look forward to hearing more when it becomes available.
Human is out now and available on Pure Tone Productions.
