An Experimental Electronic Album from Di Ex Machinis Delivers Massive Sonic Atmosphere
- BuzzSlayers
- 24 hours ago
- 3 min read
New album released from Di Ex Machinis delivers a whirlwind of atmospheric but edgy, synthesized soundscapes, all engulfing you into this other worldly aesthetic and along the way bringing together several genres to mold and sculpt the sound that feels like it's all its own.
I think that's a lot of what this record is about. It's about bringing together these different styles and approaches to create something unique. The name of the game here is sonic presence. There are loads of brilliant synthesizers and keys strewn throughout this record, and all of it creates that bountiful, colorful, but still a bit edgy, feel.
The whole thing is experimental but incredibly addictive. It's a little outside the box, but it's meant to be. This is a record that sort of pushes the envelope and is created with fewer boundaries than whatever you may be used to. This is the kind of thing that entices me.
The record is called Tesseract, and it doesn't waste much time starting off with its first track, "Peace Walker", which serves as a great introduction to the record because it starts to introduce you to some of the avant-garde soundscapes that you're about to embark upon.
This track has a swing kind of a beat, and blends this electronic contemporary undertone with a hooky synthesizer, giving you a spacious but melodic feel. The vocals are affected with some kind of amp simulator, so it sounds almost like it's coming through a loudspeaker or a phone, and it still manages to give you this great groove.
With this track alone you begin to understand the depth of what the record is going to bring and how it layers textures to create something that wraps itself around you and puts you in a different space.
"Look" is the track that has a bit more of a heavy hand to it. This one is harder hitting, edgier, deeper style synths, along with a beat that feels industrially influenced.
As I mentioned earlier, it blends a lot of genres, and I'm sure industrial is one of those, especially once you hear songs like this one.
As I said before, it's about sculpting sound. This track is an amazing example of how that's done.
The element of shaping the sounds and tones that come from the record is not overdone. It's actually very well balanced and comes in little pieces.
It could be that vocal with an amp simulator or a decimated synthesizer, either way, you're getting something that didn't come out of the box that way. It's been played with and molded into something that makes sense for the record.
Sounds like "Map" delivers much more of an electro pop soundscape, especially with the synths and keys that are used on this one, giving you this almost dance-pop vibe that borders on elements of trance and more. The vocals serve almost like instruments themselves on this track, and they do so on others as well.
They're there, but they're not on top of everything. They are embedded within the music and are brought out to add more layers to the already Lush sound of the song.
This is the kind of album that you listen to all the way through, in one shot.
It spans 17 tracks and is almost an hour in length.
If you listen to this record with headphones on from start to finish, you're in for a great experience, which I think is what this is all about.
You're supposed to dive into this record and swim around through it. It's got moods.
"Lay Down" is one of my favorites on the record because it really brings a different vibe as well. It has this rock element to it, comes through with a very robust kind of sonic frequency, the vocals are sort of drifting and floating, and it's a perfect combination of something that feels almost like a shoegaze electronic song.
This whole record was an amazing escape. It pulls you away from wherever you are and whatever you're doing and puts you in this other place for a chunk of time.
I would definitely suggest, once again, listening with headphones on, so you can soak in all of those textures and tones, and going all the way through so you can experience it the way it was meant to be experienced.
This was a borderline brilliant record that felt great to listen to and definitely pulled me in. Not only was I engulfed, but also washed away with some of the sounds of it.
Dive into this album now and remember where you hear it first.
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