Singles Spotlight: April 2023 - Ethan Crowley, Han, jolin.AA, Strawberry Launch, Square Enigma

Bringing you a crop of exciting releases in the wake of MTech Invasion!

Written by Alex "Ash" Han & Reggie Katz in collaboration

Greetings to all and welcome back to Singles Spotlight! We hope you all are doing well and staying healthy as the semester winds down and the run-up to final exams begins! Reggie & I have lots of great music to review for you guys this month; we tag-teamed this edition together, and we've been able to split up to cover lots of great music. Reggie's covering the new Strawberry Launch single, "Ready Yet", plus my own release from the tail end of last month, "Pathological (Who I Am)", which is a huge honor for me personally! I'm covering new releases from Square Enigma, Ethan Crowley, and jolin.AA on my end of things. As always, don't forget to support these artists by streaming their music via the links we've provided below, and we hope you enjoy the music! See you all further down the page!

Square Enigma - Aether

Reviewed by Alex "Ash" Han

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Stream "Aether" via Square Enigma's Hyperfollow page!

 

My time in MTech has largely converted me from being a "law of averages" kind of guy to a firm believer in Murphy's Law—in part due to the somewhat chaotic nature of Music Technology as a field, but also because I'm not sure that the absurd number of people named Alex in the MTech Program is entirely representative of the overall distribution of people named Alex throughout the worldwide population, given that there seems to be an Alex no matter which way you turn on the eighth floor! The subject of today's writing, though, Alex Ehasz, also known as Square Enigma, hasn't graced the eighth floor with his presence in some time, but while on temporary hiatus from pursuing an undergraduate degree in the MTech program, he has also blessed us with a new single, this one titled "Aether"! This new single also represents my first foray into the musical world of Square Enigma. It's a great track in its own right (plus, I also feel obligated to maintain the inter-Alex fraternity), and so it's the first track we're going to look at today!

 

"This track started as a rhythmic experiment with drum parts in different meters, modifying and arranging them to fit into a cohesive 4-bar loop… It involved an iterative process of manual chopping and re-arranging, and a few automated processes. There were enough chance-based processes that I actually couldn’t recreate this exact break if I wanted to." –Alex Ehasz a.k.a. Square Enigma

 

"Aether" is a bit of an unusual single, owing to its use of chance-based parts in order to create something that feels truly chaotic and dynamic. It opens on a crazy, off-kilter drum pattern, which has a distinct loop to it while also embracing complicated polyrhythms and a nonstandard feel that endows "Aether" with an incredible groove from the get-go. Alex soon throws us some ethereal synth pads as well, outlining a minor progression backed with muted synth bells and arpeggiators. The overall vibe is distinctly cyberpunk-flavored, and I caught certain similarities to the work of Dog Collar and P.H.0 in this respect. Divining the song structure of such a chaotic and intense track like this proved to be a difficult task, but I particularly fell in love with a really cool breakdown section that features a few really nice synth patches, including this acid-heavy synth bass that hit some cool stabs over a rapidly-subdivided kick drum that reminded me a bit of New Order's "Blue Monday". Alex uses a ton of cool arrangement tricks to create interesting ear-candy moments; introducing manipulated sound effects and reversing kick drums at opportune yet unexpected times, he demonstrates an instinctive feel for the momentum of the track and selectively augments it with little touches here and there to keep it resolutely moving forward in a way that feels earned without ever being predictable. This mastery of arrangement is one of Square Enigma's biggest strengths, and "Aether" displays it in force throughout its four minutes of runtime.

 

"Outside of the drums, a sine wave sub, and a few SFX, this track is entirely virtual analog synthesis. I won’t pull out the drawer of old clichés (“warm” “lush” “organic” etc. etc.,) but I do enjoy the aesthetic somewhat retro sounds bring to a more contemporary arrangement." –Alex Ehasz a.k.a. Square Enigma

 

Halfway through, the track goes into a middle section where the drums drop out and the darkwave-esque synth pads carry us forward into a modulation up to a major key. I really enjoyed Alex's sound design here. His synthesizer work strikes a balance between apocalyptic and wondrous, imbuing the track with an effortless sense of scale that never feels contrived or manufactured. I'm sure his chord choices have something to do with that as well, as he employs chordal extensions as additional flavoring on occasion in order to spice things up and continue increasing the scope of the track even further. Before long, though, we collapse back into the track's original key, and the crazy drum loop makes a return for one last triumphant moment before the track makes its exit on a prolonged synth whine as it slowly fades away.

 

"One of the big inspirations for this track was the idea of movement within New York City, of bodies and vehicles and everything else. I always notice this highly organized chaos, people acting as independent agents but moving in similar directions in a controlled way. I wanted to capture this sonically, these disparate and free elements contributing to this collective flow." –Alex Ehasz a.k.a. Square Enigma

 

"Aether" makes for a hugely successful introduction to the music of Square Enigma. I genuinely had no idea what to expect going into this thing, and yet somehow I was still pleasantly surprised, mostly on account of the track's insane combination of polymeter, polyrhythm, and iterative processes. It feels like a thoroughly Music Technology sort of a track, embracing an equal collision between ephemeral artistic creativity and hard science. On both fronts, "Aether" is unassailable; the strength of its core ideas results in a thoroughly journey-like experience that successfully conveys the "organized chaos" of New York City that inspired the track in the first place. Alex wields his skills in synth design and drum programming in bringing his creative vision to life in a way that decisively takes this track beyond the realm of IDM and into territory that genuinely sounds like nothing I've ever heard before, and in this way it makes a truly profound artistic statement. It's truly an enigma, a square peg in a round hole, a thing that really shouldn't work but somehow manages to nonetheless. In short, I really enjoyed this song, and I hope that "Aether" is but the first in a long line of thought-provoking, head-spinning techno that continues to take us to places we've never been before. 

 

Strawberry Launch - Ready Yet

Reviewed by Reggie Katz, edited by Alex "Ash" Han

 

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Stream "Ready Yet" via Strawberry Launch's Linktree page! Also available there are links to buy tickets for Strawberry Launch's upcoming shows, as well as the music video for "Ready Yet"!

 

Hello everyone and thank you for joining us for April’s edition of Singles Spotlight! This month I checked out 2 new releases, the first one being from Strawberry Launch, a band that I quickly became a big fan of when I reviewed their debut EP in January which you can read here. The female-fronted indie-rock band features Taylor Hurt on keyboard, Matrianna Gahol on guitar, Abby Flicker on bass, Benjy Berkowitz on drums, and Riiza on lead vocals. At the beginning of the year, the band had a little over 2,000 monthly listeners and their number of Spotify streams totaled under 50,000. Strawberry Launch now has over 26,000 monthly listeners at the time of this review, and their most popular track, "Sweet Basil", has over 175,000 streams. It’s great to see that Strawberry Launch is starting to get the recognition they deserve, and based on their killer latest single, ‘Ready Yet’, I only expect their fanbase to grow like weeds!

"Everyone talks about 'coming of age' and romanticizing youth, but no one talks about how scary change is in your twenties when you're left to your own devices." –Taylor Hurt, keyboardist & backing vocalist

 

Before any instruments in ‘Ready Yet’ come in, Riiza’s sharp lead vocals enter, with acoustic guitar chords coming into the mix shortly after. The acoustic guitar is produced in a similar way that you might build an indie electric guitar tone: chorus reverb, light compression, and putting a spotlight on the mid-high range of the instrument. The implementation of the acoustic guitar is quite unique to this track. The strumming is very light and gives the production some brightness in combination with the effects used on it. They have decided the acoustic was best used to help build the bubbly atmosphere they are creating, as opposed to using it as a more percussive device, which happens very often in acoustic guitar-heavy songs. Underneath the vocals and guitar, the bass and drums are playing a nice groove that sits just right to not be overpowering, but still present enough to keep the energy of the track pushing forward. After the first chorus, the drums come in a little louder with a simple but resolute groove that fits beautifully to add excitement to the long first chorus that opens the song. The lyrics read as the anxious inner thoughts of someone who has to grow up but isn’t prepared for that change. The synth layers and backing vocals that come in at the pre-chorus are arranged in an expert way that compliments everything else going on in the track already, while also helping build to the climax of the chorus. When we reach the chorus, Riiza sings “I’m not ready yet”, which seems to be referring to the big changes that are happening to her in the big city, and how it can be hectic trying to manage those changes when you live in a place where there is always something going on—a struggle that becomes even more hectic when you’re dealing with relationship drama. After the chorus, the synths and backing vocals are stripped away and the song goes back to a similar groove to its beginning. When the second chorus comes in, it has a similar feel as the first one. Clearly, this bunch is aware that you can’t do something in a song the exact same twice. Hence, the synth doubles the lead vocal melody at some points in the chorus as well as adding its own elements that create a little bit of a wonky feeling since the synth is fairly soloistic, but pretty far back in the mix. The synth could’ve been brought out more since it sounds like it was played as a solo, but this didn’t bother me too much since I was still able to hear it very clearly. On the choruses, it sounds like they use acoustic and electric guitars to give the guitar sound more of a full body. Following the second chorus, there is an experimental-sounding interlude/bridge featuring acoustic guitars, electric guitars, vocal adlibs, and various synth sounds. During this little interlude, they made use of several applied chords, so maybe being required to take Aural Comp isn’t totally useless after all! The interlude takes us back to one final chorus until we come to the end where Riiza sings “I’m not ready yet and neither are you” totally acapella. 

"I feel like I'm still learning and growing with myself every day and I wanted to write about the anxiety it gives me to compare my life trajectory to those closest to me." –Riiza, lead vocalist

 

Although 26,000 people is a respectable-sized group of listeners, I’m surprised their Spotify monthly listener count is that low! Even when writing about saddening topics like growing up and feeling alone in a big city, they still find ways to keep their shimmer and brightness present, in this case through their production, which is what makes them so great! Riiza’s soft, rounded timbre has vocal qualities similar to Mitski, but the band has energy and vibrance comparable to Tank and the Bangas. Their lead vocal processing, which is familiar if you’ve listened to their past releases, utilizes a big reverb and small tremolo that always hooks the listener in. Incorporating many different guitar textures was a lovely way to keep the track exciting. A big chunk of the signature Strawberry Launch sound lives in the guitar arrangements as well, so I think it’s really important for them to continue to focus on nailing those guitar parts, which Matrianna always does seamlessly. Of course, Taylor plays the keyboard just as seamlessly. The synth parts in this single had me making the musician’s “stank face” which any band knows is the greatest compliment a musician can give! Strawberry Launch has a strong backbone with Ben on the drums and Abby on the bass. They are always in the pocket and their intuition when playing is phenomenal. There doesn’t tend to be sheet music or super formal arrangements in the indie-rock genre, making it all the more impressive that the group is able to create tracks like this using their ears, talent, and ability to work as a team. The mixing and production on Strawberry Launch tracks is always up to mainstream music industry standards. I feel so privileged whenever I get to write a review on a Strawberry Launch release. Call me hipster if you like, but when Strawberry Launch makes it big, I’ll definitely be bragging about how I wrote reviews on their music for my college music blog before they were household names!    

Ethan Crowley - Stupid in College

Reviewed by Alex "Ash" Han

 

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Stream "Stupid in College" via Ethan Crowley's LnkTo page!

 

Those of you who have been around since the beginning of this blog might remember that the very first album review I ever wrote featured the music of singer-songwriter Ethan Crowley, namely that of his full-length debut LP, Drowning in a Glass of Water. Ethan's music brought a number of strengths that really appealed to me at the outset of my journey as a music journalist—namely, his down-to-earth, accessible songwriting, paired with tender & expressive vocals in a lethal singer-songwriter package that established Ethan as an accomplished & skilled performer coming off his debut. Suffice it to say that things kinda came full circle for me at MTech Invasion, where I got to watch as Ethan opened his set with "In My Dreams", the first song I'd ever heard from him. Ethan's vocals & instrumental skills were as rock-solid as ever on the live stage, and watching him perform was an excellent experience that showcased Ethan's extensive background as a live performer & artist.

Also at MTech Invasion, Ethan performed his most recent release, "Stupid in College", which premiered at the tail end of last month. The song felt like a bit of a stylistic shift for me, moving closer to the aesthetic of folk music and diverging slightly from the piano-based singer-songwriter direction that anchored many of the songs on his debut LP. Ethan even brought out a couple violinists to help him render the song in a live setting, which was really cool! Even amidst all the artists debuting new material at MTech Invasion, Ethan's performance of "Stupid in College" really stuck with me—it was the first time I'd seen him live, and it proved that he was particularly skilled at translating the intimacy of his studio works to the live stage.

 

Pictured above: Ethan Crowley, debuting an unreleased track while performing live at MTech Invasion. Photography courtesy of Alex Ehasz (@ae_taylor_photo).
 

Breaking away from the stage and returning to the studio for a moment: "Stupid in College" opens on a finger-picked major key acoustic guitar riff that outlines a simple two-chord progression. Ethan's vocals enter soon after, sounding out through a slightly lo-fi vocal chain that gives his lead vocal a sort of thin, bright, mildly radio-esque timbre. Ethan's vocals here are plaintive, embracing a soft & tender performance that goes hand-in-hand with the austere and folksy vibe set by the acoustic guitar; overall, it made for a nice return to the stripped-down campfire intimacy visible on Drowning in a Glass of Water-era tracks like "Let's Run Away" and "Time Well Spent". While listening, I found myself wishing for a warmer and more natural vocal chain in order to complement the track's intimate soundscape and vibe; the lead vocal processing came out a little too crispy for my taste, but ultimately that's a matter of personal preference, and Ethan's strong vocal performance comes through nonetheless. The soundscape leaves us in pretty sparse territory until the entrance of the track's first chorus, which introduces a simple electric bass part and a vocal double that helps fill out the warmth and bottom end that the verse vocal largely eschews. The lyrics here embrace a message of straightforward romance, in which Ethan sings about the wild and sometimes-boneheaded experiences of living the life of a college student, but also about how he enjoys it nonetheless by virtue of experiencing those things alongside someone he loves. It's a simple theme, but one that Ethan executes rather well, with his evocative and sincere vocals helping to communicate the honesty and depth of his feelings for this person—a prime example of the age-old narrative adage "show, don't tell".

 

Pictured above: Ethan Crowley brings "Stupid in College" to life on the live stage at MTech Invasion. Photography courtesy of Alex Ehasz (@ae_taylor_photo).
 

Coming out of the first chorus, a couple panned violin lines enter in the background, providing some pleasant counterpoint that adds some variety to the guitar line. The violins were an addition that definitely made for a bit of a curveball, but I think they were a nice touch, and brought the song in line with territory that feels distinctly closer to Nashville to me. Granted, my knowledge of country & bluegrass music is rather limited, but I was reminded a little of Allison Krauss's rendition of "Baby, Now That I've Found You", as well as a couple tracks off of Dolly Parton's Eagle When She Flies. The second verse also brought some cool sound effects and word painting; in particular, I thought it was a really cool moment when Ethan sang about "blowing up your phone", accompanied by some tastefully-used sound effects from typing & sending texts in iMessage, arranged in a loosely rhythmic fashion. I really love little touches of sound effects like that, and Ethan's use of the iMessage sounds made for a great example of recontextualizing a familiar sound to further the narrative of the song. The second verse also introduces a simple four-on-the-floor kick drum, which jacks the folksy, rustic energy up a little heading into the last leg of the track. From here, Ethan throws us two more choruses, now ornamented with some additional vocal harmony layers, plus some extra percussion. The last chorus ends on a deceptive cadence, which gives Ethan space to repeat the last line of the song one more time before it ends.

I'm glad I had almost a month to really sit with this track before I had to publish this article, because formulating my final thoughts on it took quite a while—much longer than it usually does when I'm writing about a single release. When the track first dropped at the end of March, I was actually rather thrown by Ethan's decision to pursue a more overtly folk-inspired direction. I'd long been familiar with the shades of bluegrass and American roots music that had made subtle appearances throughout Ethan's discography, but for me, "Stupid in College" marked a notable stylistic shift that nodded much more heavily to this aesthetic. At first, I wasn't sure I liked it, but I've actually found myself opening up to the new sound much more since the track first released. I'm sure my seeing Ethan do this song live at MTech Invasion played a huge part in that—watching him use his guitar and his heel shaker/foot tambourine combo in combination with his two violinists to bring this recording to life on the stage that day proved that the closeness and warmth of Ethan's studio recordings could absolutely also be conveyed by the man himself in a live setting, and that was really cool to see. Suffice it to say that the heavier leanings towards a folksy aesthetic is basically perfect for this song. With "Stupid in College", Ethan positions himself to be something of an old-fashioned, wholesome, sweetheart of a romantic: the kind of guy that would buy you flowers, take you to a nice restaurant, and kindly insist on paying for dinner. In that sense, it's perfect, and the song exhibits a lot of cohesion between its songwriting, production, and performance aesthetic that lends it a very rustic, austere flavor of romantic songwriting largely specific to Ethan. Yes, college students might be stupid, but this one is wholesome at heart, and his successful rendering of what it's like to be so stupid that it ends up becoming romantic somehow is yet another indicator of his songwriting talent and prowess as an artist. 

 

Han - Pathological (Who I Am)

Reviewed by Reggie Katz, edited by Kash Burns

 

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Stream "Pathological (Who I Am)" via the single's associated Hyperfollow link!

 

Up next, we’ll be taking a look at ‘Pathological (Who I Am)’, the latest release from our very own Alex Han! Some of you may know Alex from class, from their set at the MTech invasion festival (organized by himself and RED_E¥E), or most recently, the head writer and editor of our blog! In case you missed it, Alex Han, the writer behind Ash, revealed their identity on the MTech Instagram page just a couple of weeks ago, finally removing the mystery of who Ash is and why they are doing so much for the Music Tech community. Alex is not shy with his rigorous work ethic, organizing festivals, writing thoughtful music reviews, building electric guitars, etc. And on top of all of that, they still manage to put out a solid amount of music! On "Pathological (Who I Am)", Han tries to take a shift into a new territory of music while still retaining the elements that are unique to them. He has already seen success with this track, having earned praise in our Collegium listening sessions as well as a singing crowd at our MTech festival!

 

Pictured above: Han, also known as Ash, performing "Pathological (Who I Am)" live at the MTech Invasion festival this April. Captured by Alex Ehasz (@ae_taylor_photo).

 

“Things came full circle at MTech Invasion, when I was performing this song, and I heard the crowd singing the chorus back to me, which meant that people knew the words! That was such an incredible and rewarding moment for me as an artist, and it showed me that I was capable of writing something that people could resonate with. “ –Han

We are welcomed into "Pathological (Who I Am)" with a hearty synth and Han’s lead vocal beginning a story about his journey through pathological lying and how he learned to cope with it.

“In order to achieve a 'younger' vocal sound, I recorded the vocals at a mathematically-derived slower tempo and in a lower key, and sped them up to match the established tempo & key of the track.” –Han

A clean 808 line enters the mix shortly after the song begins with an energetic drum beat befriending the bass a couple bars later. The pop-punk groove being played on the trap-sounding drums samples are reminiscent of drums you’d hear on an MGK track, although the hi-hat sound alone reminded me of the hats on Ice Spice’s latest EP. The drums become more present than they were before, along with some harsh synths and backing vocals adding to the build-up to the chorus.

 

Pictured above: Han, pictured during their set at MTech Invasion. Captured by Alex Ehasz (@ae_taylor_photo).

 

“I was definitely inspired by artists like webcage & Deadbeat Girl, but I think the two biggest influences on this track specifically were probably nickwuh & Jaden Tyler, whom I was listening to a lot at the time given that I was reviewing their respective albums during that semester.” –Han

The first section of the chorus reads “I don’t know who I am/ Said I don’t know who I am/And nobody gives a damn /When I’m crying out for help.” Isn’t that so sad? Han verbalizes a relatable feeling in a way that I couldn’t say better myself!

“I struggled a lot with pathological lying as a teenager; I essentially lied as a defensive reflex all the time and I couldn't stop, and I ended up hurting a lot of people and doing a lot of things I deeply regret as a result. It took me a long time to break out of that pattern and start being truthful about who I was, not only with others, but also with myself.” –Han

 

After the chorus, the drums get a little bit of a rest, but I say a little because there are still so many different synth textures happening on top of each other that nothing about it is truly ‘little.’ After a short section with no drums, Han takes us into one final chorus and a final ending section, which is unique to the rest of the track as it differs from what we’ve heard in the song. It sounds as if any instrument heard in the track previously comes in at the end, along with some bonus ones, really building the anxious vibe that this track facilitates. The intricate use of fading and removing synths at the end to transition to the B-side song on this release ended up working really well.

 

 

Pictured above: During the middle bridge section of "Pathological (Who I Am)", Han delivers lead vocals. Captured by Alex Ehasz (@ae_taylor_photo).
 

Han has a great ability to conceptualize something and put it into tangible form. Their vulnerability in their lyrics and their production is something to be admired, but after catching their set at the MTech festival and listening through their discography, I think their music is best when they strip things back a little more. The vocal processing was a little too much for my taste. I understand Han may have wanted the vocals to have the feeling of his younger self singing, but it ended up sounding like his normal voice plus Little AlterBoy on it. I also think there is a little more to be desired in the mixing department as the vocals sounded a little flat in the mix. However, the instrumental aspect of the mix sounded fantastic. The musical arrangement on this release will definitely grab your attention, but the maximalist production style is not something that usually needs to happen on most songs. I feel that in huge productions where the producer is trying to layer as many sounds as possible, the production becomes too big too fast leaving little to no room for the song to go anywhere. I think this release suffered from that a little as I was hoping for a bigger beat drop or energy shift when we got to each chorus. Of course, there is still an audience who will love and appreciate this song for what it is. And I ultimately respect Han for venturing into new styles without losing his sense of self as an artist. It’s important to experiment with music or you will never find what works best for you. It’s also important to remember that in the grand scheme of things, my opinion is not the end all be all!! If you’re creating something and it sounds good to you, that’s all that matters. I know there are plenty of people out there who would find this song to be exceptional, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

 

Pictured above: Han performs "Save Some Love for Me", the B-side & companion single to "Pathological (Who I Am)". Captured by Alex Ehasz (@ae_taylor_photo).

 

“I found that I really resonated with the idea of masking very dark and personal subject matter behind superficially pleasing, uptempo dance music, and I thought that it paralleled and represented the track's narrative of hiding yourself behind a facade pretty well.” –Han

I might have some criticisms, but there are plenty of aspects of this track that are great. Personally, I love when artists disguise depressing lyrics under a happy mask. The desolate lyrics documenting Han’s difficult struggles told over a joyous arrangement create the same energy as a song like ‘Nobody Gets Me’ by SZA. Even though I think the number of synth layers was a little overkill, I have to admire just how many sounds he came up with. This release featuring cold lyrics, but a warm production, has me thrilled to see what’s next in store from Han.

jolin.AA - notURtype

Reviewed by Alex "Ash" Han

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Stream "notURtype" and check out the track's associated music video via jolin.AA's Linktree page!

 

I had the opportunity of working alongside singer & producer Jolin Tsai for the first time around a month and a half ago, when both of us fell in with the newly-formed MTech shoegaze outfit slusho during the run-up to MTech Invasion. As the two vocalists in slusho, Jolin and I ended up working together rather closely, and we ended up creating a working rapport that I felt really good about—we spent lots of time trying in vain to decipher the barely-intelligible lyrics of slowdive and My Bloody Valentine, which I felt was a really good bonding experience for us! It was during those early rehearsals that I first became familiar with Jolin's expertise as a vocalist; she brought a keening, soaring, powerful voice that made for the perfect tool with which to pierce the wall of reverb presented by everyone else in slusho. Suffice it to say that sharing the stage with her was a great honor, and I consider myself very fortunate to have had that opportunity.

 

 

Pictured above: jolin.AA (center) performing lead vocals with slusho at MTech Invasion. Also pictured, from left to right: Freddy Gerngross, Alex Jester, Jamie Walker, Aman Hanspal. Photography courtesy of Ava Joyce (@avajoycee).

"…notURtype is describing my own experience of my former crush. When one’s having a crush on someone, one always tries to present the best of themselves, and so did I. Just like an arcade game, the final goal is to get the special one’s heart. To connect this narrative better with the music production, I choose to go with a blurry, undefined music genre—a bit pop, a bit electronic, a bit retro and synthy; I tried to add FX and lofi processing on my vocals, also introducing a lot of gaming effect in the piece." –Jolin Tsai a.k.a. jolin.AA

 

Color me surprised when I heard that Jolin was releasing a new single right after MTech Invasion! This one's called "notURtype", and embraces a sort of R&B/citypop fusion that's about as far from our work with slusho as you can get. The track opens on a steady, retro, loosely-1980s drum groove anchored in a muffled kick drum and sliding electric bass notes. Jolin's vocals make their first appearance here, delivering sweet melodies through a telephonic-sounding vocal chain that sweeps out a ton of low end in favor of nasal high-end sparkle. while subtle electric guitars and synth patches outline some arpeggiated melodies over the top. I really like the sound selection during this first verse; the additional melodies added by the guitars and synths are very subtle and almost elude detection, serving to add an understated sense of depth and motion to the chord progression. Speaking of, the prechorus section brought some really nice modal interchange, as Jolin throws us a beautiful flat VII chord that sounds lovely in context amongst all the different instruments.

Not long after that, we collapse into the track's first chorus, outlined by sparkling, heavy synthesizer arpeggios over some great vocal harmonies from Jolin, driven along by the track's heavy, thumping pulse. The vocals here are wonderful, but I felt like the particular brand of vocal processing in use here prevented me from enjoying them to the fullest; the EQ curve caused us to lose so much low-mid warmth that I felt like the actual harmony notes became somewhat obscured, and I feel like we sorta lost the sense of extra scale that backing vocal harmonies typically provide. That said, Jolin's vocal work here was excellent; I just wish it had been given more space in the mix to sit front and center so we could enjoy them more easily. The track continues to move forward from here, throwing us another pre-chorus and hook with an ever-increasing sense of momentum that keeps us moving and building forward until we hit the breakdown in the last leg of the track, where everything drops out except the drums. Jolin does some loose, groovy ad-libs over the break, which was a really nice touch that I enjoyed a lot; Jolin's performance felt very reminiscent of an old-school, disco-era brand of vocal funk that she embodied perfectly, almost like a modern take on the 1970s whispery, airy vocal style a la Diana Ross. This break was definitely a super rewarding part of the track for me, especially when the drop hits once more and we drop into an almost-BROCKHAMPTON alternative R&B instrumental for a second; featuring a distorted kick, sixteenth-note hi-hats, and a steady 808-esque bass, this moment was perhaps my favorite part of the song, and it was such a cool end-of-track beat switch that it made me sad to see that we only got a few seconds of it before the track's ending. Nonetheless, it made for a super cool listen, and one that I'm sure will be on repeat in my headphones for a while!

 

"…I would label "notURtype" as an alternative piece—I want the listeners to feel a bit unfamiliar when they first listen, I want them to feel the uniqueness. I might be too much of an alternative for my crush's ideal type, and so is my music. But in the end, I want to embrace this alternativeness, this specialness. I want to show that it's your difference that makes you shine!" –Jolin Tsai a.k.a. jolin.AA

Overall, I thought "notURtype" made for a refreshing crossgenre piece that managed to successfully channel a diverse array of influences and distill them into a catchy alternative pop song that feels distinctly unique and unencumbered by genre barriers. Not quite disco, not quite R&B, and not quite citypop, Jolin pulls little tidbits from all of these genres and more in pursuit of creating something that feels uniquely her. The production speaks to the strength of this creative vision as well—Jolin's sound selection here was supreme, meshing a woozy, chest-pounding kick pulse with lots of idiosyncratic and muted drum samples to create a groove that feels both grounded and dreamlike, a cross-section furthered by her subtle, understated electric guitar work and heady synthesizer designs. I did wish for something a little different in regards to the mix, though; Jolin is an incredible vocalist, and in spite of her desire to shoot for a lo-fi vocal sound, I found myself wishing that we'd had just a little more clarity with which to appreciate the lush and expansive harmony work on this track. I feel like the current vocal chain represents an extreme of sorts, with practically all the low-mid and low end frequency content swept out of the vocal, whereas I think it might have been possible to shoot for a kind of happy medium, wherein the vocals retained some warmth while still leaning towards a lo-fi sound. Including more warmth in the vocal sound might have also helped to address the overall bias of the mix towards the high end; while our kick drum and our bass guitar do sufficiently fill out the super low end, I feel like the mix is missing something in the low-mid area specifically to help fill it out and really drive it home. Mixing nitpicks aside, though, "notURtype" made for a very strong showcase of Jolin's songwriting, production, and vocal talents, and manages to feel thoroughly unique and idiosyncratic. In that sense, Jolin succeeded in what she set out to do, and with any luck, there will be many more songs that embrace a similar uniqueness to come from her down the road!

~~~~

As always, thanks so much for tuning in! That's all we've got for you this month, but we've got some very exciting things in the pipeline coming up—namely a review of graduate collective P.H.0's Karma LP, plus an article that provides a peek behind the scenes at MTech Invasion, complete with artist interviews, photos, and videos from the event! Additionally, I'll be putting together a semester-end list of my favorite tracks from inside MTech! Stay tuned for those articles, and in any case, we'll be back in a month's time with the next issue of Singles Spotlight. Until then, stay safe & healthy, and best of luck with final exams!

-Alex "Ash" Han

Singles Spotlight: March 2023 - &seb, Keyfauver, P.H.0, RED_E¥E, aonhe

Spring break brought lots of great new music from across the MTech program.

Written by Ash & Reggie Katz in collaboration

Hi all and welcome back to Singles Spotlight! I hope you all have been weathering midterms well, and that you had a restful spring break (I could have used another week myself, but oh well). In any case, our community is at least slightly more well-rested than the norm, and we've got a really high-caliber batch of singles this month to look at as a result! As always, make sure to stream all of these artists' songs via the links we've provided below, and I will see you all further down the page!

 

&seb - Colorblind

Reviewed by Ash

 

Stream "Colorblind" by visiting &seb's Linktree! Also, don't forget to check out the track's associated (AI generated!!) music video on YouTube. 

 

Lots of you have probably already met Sebastian Brunner-Stolovitzky already; as one of the ever-helpful studio monitors on the eighth floor, he's had plenty of opportunities to get acquainted with those of us in MTech. Sebastian released "Colorblind" at the tail end of last month, under his artist moniker &seb. I was a newcomer to the world of Sebastian's music—having known him solely as a studio monitor and not as an artist, I was excited to see what sort of thing he'd put out. Sometimes, when someone I know, but whose music I'm unfamiliar with, releases something new, I like to make a game out of trying to guess what genre it's going to fall into based on the person's personality; of course, I'm usually wrong, but I feel like it validates my people-reading skills on the rare occasion when I manage to make a somewhat decent guess! For what little it's worth, I'd guessed that the music of &seb would fall somewhere in alternative R&B territory, like a cross between Joji & Giveon. If any of you have already listened to "Colorblind", you already know I was completely wrong; instead, the song takes a lot of cues from modern disco-pop that embraces a certain brand of retro nostalgia, and ends up feeling more like Ellie Goulding crossed with Prince than it does Joji and Giveon. "Colorblind" is catchy and funky, and showcases an impressive level of polish that definitely helped it to stick in my mind over these past few weeks; go listen to it, and I'm sure it'll stick just as firmly in yours as well!

"I initially wrote ['Colorblind'] for a gig I had at the Mercury Lounge back in July 2022—my band's set was one song too short, so I needed to add one more original. I only had two weeks before the gig, so I wrote it in two nights, the fastest I've ever written a song." –Sebastian Brunner-Stolovitzky a.k.a. &seb

 

"Colorblind" opens on a summery, peppy disco-flavored guitar riff over a shimmery soundscape of warped guitars and upbeat synth lines. Sebastian's vocals inhabit a low bass register that lends the whole song a distinctly mellow feeling that synergizes nicely with the funky pop presentation of the whole shebang; where a typical retro-pop disco revivalist affair like this might employ a tenor vocalist for some soaring falsetto passages and high belted lines, Sebastian's tender bass vocals make for a nice subversion of the usual vocal qualities typically associated with this genre of music. The prechorus brings some funky guitar chords interwoven with tasteful, muted synthesizer stabs that play off of each other in creating a rhythmically complex groove that carries plenty of soul. I found myself really taken with the synthesizer work in this track; all of the synth sounds used here are pretty subtle, and I had to start really listening for them specifically in order to figure out what they were doing, but they nonetheless make for a restrained, yet charming addition that does a lot to elevate the track's sense of scale beyond that of just drums, guitar, and bass. The chorus is announced by the arrival of some really nice octave-doubled backing vocals from Sebastian as he delivers a syncopated, descending hook over sidechained guitars that pulse in sync with the kick. The hook is definitely pretty simple, but I think that's part of the reason it lodged itself in my head so readily while I was writing this review; even on first listen, it was quite firmly stuck in my head, which I guess just serves to showcase Sebastian's understanding of the fact that sometimes, less is more—which applies to melodies just as much as other things!

 

"…I really liked the song so I came back to it in November. I re-recorded all of the vocals, rewrote a couple of lyrics, got my sister to make the art (@_natashawho), had my roommate Cascina add guitars to the chorus (@cascinacaradonna), commissioned my friend Freddy to record a bassline (@_knaptime), and finally sent it out to mastering with Bill Hare (the mastering engineer for Pentatonix!)." –Sebastian Brunner-Stolovitzky a.k.a. &seb

The second verse strips things down a little, as most of the other established elements save for Sebastian's lead vocal and the electric bass take a step back. It was at this point, with the bass front and center for the first time, that I took notice of how nice this bass tone is. It's got a lot of high-mid grittiness to it, which helps it cut through the mix just right, but it doesn't sacrifice that solid, rounded low end either. I'd be remiss if I failed to point out that Freddy also went absolutely crazy on the bass; there's all sorts of cool little trills and rhythmic switchups that listening to it never makes me feel like I'm listening to the same few seconds of bass audio looped over and over again. However, Sebastian's vocals also occupy the spotlight here, and it was at this point that I started to wish for a tad less processing on that front. His vocal chain results in a hyper-polished sort of sound that ended up feeling a bit robotic, at least to me; I feel like part of disco's appeal has to do with its free-spirited expression of human joy & exultation, and while "Colorblind" is certainly a more modern song that is more regimented and less wild than the bell-bottomed dance music of the late 1970s disco era, I still felt that it could have used a more organic vocal performance with a greater degree of expressiveness, or perhaps a vocal chain that let the moments of expression that are already there shine through a little bit more. Even so, the hook remains as catchy as ever here, and is sure to get stuck in plenty of heads before the song finishes up! After the second chorus, we break into a bridge section that sees Sebastian repeat a looping vocal refrain over the drum pattern stripped down to its basic four-on-the-floor kick and snare as some distant handclaps and synth lines make momentary visits at different points in the stereo field. On first listen, I found myself wishing for a more substantive bridge that did more things aside from repeating the same vocal line, but it mostly ceased to bother me on repeated listens; it does its job well enough, and the outward explosion of sound into the track's bombastic final chorus is still immensely rewarding as is. The song ends with a reverbed clap and residual synth whine left over from the preceding chorus that gently fades out until we're left with silence.

"Ever since I wrote ['Colorblind'], I knew I wanted to make some sort of animated music video. I used AI to make the entire thing using Stable Diffusion… which generates images based on the text that you give it. Using the Python code… I could generate thousands of images to make a full video." –Sebastian Brunner-Stolovitzky a.k.a. &seb

"Colorblind" made an impression on me basically immediately once I'd finished listening to it; even amongst the very high standards set by all of the supremely talented folks in our program, it's typically a bit of a struggle to find something that feels as polished and radio-ready as "Colorblind" does. The immediate vibe I got from the song was that I could hear it on the radio, sandwiched between Dua Lipa and Justin Timberlake, without batting an eye. I think that speaks to the artistic prowess displayed on the mixing and mastering front as well as the production side of things; this master is loud, in the way that lots of Top 40 songs are loud, and forces my senses to give it my full attention without getting too overwhelming. The mix is super polished and affords everything lots of clarity while also maintaining a solid feel for the big picture and overall balance. Sebastian absolutely establishes himself as a vocalist and songwriter here as well, and he matches the level of industry-standard polish set by the mix and master in every respect.

 

However, in spite of all the myriad strengths of "Colorblind", at the end of it, I still found myself wishing that the song had embraced a less polished presentation. As it stands, "Colorblind" is professional-sounding and carries a definitively catchy tune, but I actually found myself being drawn quite a bit more strongly to Sebastian's debut, the 2020 single "New Blood". "New Blood" embraces a lilting, druggy ambience propelled by 12/8 downtempo drums, chill fingerstyle guitars, and a truly stunning vocal performance from Sebastian that sees his deep, sonorous bass timbre utilized to its fullest; the song also helped me feel somewhat vindicated in my initial guess of a Joji/Giveon sort of sound! Don't get me wrong—the two songs are completely different, and the scintillating darkness of "New Blood" stands so at odds with the peppy cheeriness of "Colorblind" that it teeters on becoming an apples-to-oranges sort of situation. Nevertheless, I felt like I learned a lot more about Sebastian as an artist from the cloying, encroaching twilight of "New Blood" than I did from "Colorblind"'s ray-of-sunshine presentation. I suppose that's the cost of making something that sounds so Top 40 radio-ready—listening to "Colorblind", Sebastian almost feels like he's one of those untouchable pop megastars that live at the top of the charts, so far away they almost cease to feel like real people. If that's what he's aiming for, then this newest &seb single is a definite job well done, but in any case, it leaves me waiting to see whether the next song he puts out takes him even higher out of reach—or brings him back to earth.

Keyfauver - Knock

Reviewed by Ash

 

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Stream "Knock" via Keyfauver's Linktree!

 

During my time in MTech, I've become more and more cognizant of something which I'm starting to suspect is a universal experience in our community: namely that of crossing paths with someone on the eighth floor over and over again, enough to recognize them by appearance, but somehow never actually speaking to them! Prior to the start of this semester, when we ended up in class together, Greta Olsen, also known by her artist name, Keyfauver, was one of those people for me; I'd somehow seen her around all the time, but I don't think I'd spoken to her more than once or twice until now. Little anecdote aside, Keyfauver's debut single released early this month, and I was really excited to get a chance to properly review this one. Reviewing debut projects is always really exciting for me, since it represents our first chance to dive into the sound of an artist who's only just opened the proverbial gateway to their universe. In this respect, Keyfauver's "Knock" made one hell of an impression as a debut, blasting out of the gates with a haunting presentation of pandemic-era darkness that I hope heralds the arrival of a really exciting artist amongst our community.

"I wrote 'Knock' in May of 2020 during the height of the pandemic when I was super depressed and was just drowning myself in music and doing everything I could to stay afloat… I remember keeping my windows open as much as I could during that first pandemic spring to keep myself from feeling so suffocated, which is where that line 'as the cool May breeze runs through' comes from. I also just really liked using the metaphor of depression knocking on a window, because for me whenever I get into a depressed state I can almost see it coming on first, as if I'm seeing it blow through my window before it sets in fully." –Greta Olsen a.k.a. Keyfauver

 

Equal parts The Cure and The Black Keys, "Knock" embraces a stark, scintillating ambience that conveys an enveloping sense of existential dread. The track opens on an ominous, reverb-heavy swung piano riff alongside wintry, distant vocals that also showcase some subtle doubling an octave down. The piano caught my ear right away; I'm not sure if it's a live acoustic piano or a sample or even some really well-done MIDI, but I love the timbre Greta managed to achieve here, and there are some really cool accented notes panned off to each side that lend the piano part a distinctive, wide, ping-pong sort of sound. We sit in this space for a little while, and it's not until a full thirty seconds in that we come to a bit of a stopping point on a big half cadence before the first verse enters. Greta's voice comes to the center here, bringing a nicely-textured vocal performance that embraces a sort of striking vulnerability in its presentation. For some reason, Greta's lead vocal performance really reminded me of Adele; although Greta definitely showcases a certain rough-around-the-edges quality that contrasts with Adele's meticulously composed, poised presentation, she manages a similar brand of soulful openness that for me helps solidify "Knock" as a thoroughly earnest expression of her feelings, human flaws and all. Some subtle washes of guitar also enter at this point, flickering in and out of focus behind layers upon layers of reverb. The re-entrance of the "there's a knock at my window" hook later on is heralded by the arrival of a massively dark sub bass and some subtle, reverbed synth notes in the left ear. The soundscape maintains a gradual build for much of the track's first act, resulting in a slow, inexorable upswelling of bleakness that parallels the song's themes of depression and overwhelming sadness; the result is thoroughly hair-raising and unsettling, but also truly catchy and striking, which I feel only speaks to the strength of Greta's artistic vision, as well as the decisive and skillful rendering of that vision which she managed here.

"One of my favorite bands growing up has always been The Cure because of my parents… they're my mom's favorite band and they were actually my first concert. They've always been a really big comfort band for me, so during this period of depression I listened to their stuff really heavily, specifically the albums Faith and Disintegration. As a result, a lot of the music I wrote in that period is very much inspired by The Cure, which I think is really evident in the guitar tone I went with and the heavily reverbed snare… the drums I used were very inspired by 'Fascination Street', a track off of Disintegration." –Greta Olsen a.k.a. Keyfauver

 

The second verse brings some more haunting vocal passages from Greta, this time accompanied with some backing vocal layers that create some really nice harmony. In spite of the gradually-expanding soundscape, Greta's vocals never lose their sort of apathetic bent, which I thought was really important in terms of cultivating the track's vibe of existential dread. Even the harmonies manage to sound unlike a group of supporting voices the way most backing vocals do, and instead create a sensation as if they're pushing down on the listener, just another part of the oppressive soundscape weighing down one's mental state; it's like the internal voice that endlessly spouts depressive intrusive thoughts and never seems to go away. I think it might be Greta's choice of reverb and delay that helps to create that feeling here, where the whispered echoes of backing vocals coalesce into a massive wall of sounds that crash together all at once; I remained consistently wowed by the clear intentionality and strength behind Greta's creative choices in the production and mixing stages of this track, and the resulting vibe is incredibly vivid as a result. I did, however, feel like I started to lose the groove a little somewhere in this second verse. The track's intro and opening verses gave me the impression of a very 12/8, swung sort of feel, but by this point, some of the eighth notes start coming out a little more straight and 4/4-esque, and I found myself a little disoriented on first listen as I tried to figure out where the pulse of the track was. The crashing entrance of the drums that takes us into the next hook solidifies the impression of common time, and the pulse of the track once again becomes clear. The drums bring a lot of reverb, resulting in a surplus of thick low end frequency content that results in a slightly overwhelming listening experience, but considering the song's subject matter of being stuck in a declining metal state, the more I thought about it, the more appropriate I thought it was. In any case, we also get some heavily-reverbed guitar licks and little pizzicato string touches surfacing from the sea of guitar/drum reverb, which added some nice little ornaments in the background. Greta's vocals exit after this last hook, and are replaced by some crazy lead guitar passages that break out into ominous two-part harmony as the drums slowly fade out and the track ends.

"I just wanna give a shoutout to my family for being super supportive and excited about my music every step of the way, and for always pushing me to make what I want and express myself. Another huge shoutout to my friends Steven Broun and Jess Maltzman, who helped with the creative process. Jess helped work out a lot of the kinks in the early stages of the mix with me, and Steven really helped polish it with me and give input when my ears were fatigued from working on the track for too long. And lastly, shoutout to everyone who's listened to the track and given me support!" –Greta Olsen a.k.a. Keyfauver

 

If it's not clear already, I was really, really struck by Greta's poignant evocation of depression, to the point where I actually struggled quite a bit with writing this review—not because I couldn't come up with things to say about the track, but because it raised a lot of complex feelings that I had a hard time articulating. Even so, I think it's rather safe to say that the end result of "Knock" is a resoundingly successful one. Greta's songwriting, production, and mixing abilities collided in explosive fashion here, creating a haunting rendering of depression imbued with a ton of character and personality. That's not to say I don't have my points of contention with the track—I suppose I might have wished that the drums entered less abruptly and had more of a buildup, or that the time signature felt like it remained more constant throughout, or that we got a longer outro with a front-and-center guitar solo that got a bit more stage time with which to soar, but ultimately none of those relatively pedantic nitpicks of mine should take precedence over Greta's creative vision, because holy shit, it's a good one, and it brought to the surface a lot of very vivid memories I carry from my own experiences with mental health struggles and depression. Unfortunately, I think that means I won't be putting this track on for casual listening too often, but nonetheless, I came away from "Knock" with a healthy amount of respect for Greta's myriad skills as a lyricist, singer, songwriter, producer, and engineer. Even in the relative aftermath of the pandemic, something tells me we'll be getting plenty of pandemic-era depression songs for a long time to come, and if Keyfauver continues to gift us tracks like these, then I'll be more than happy to listen!

 

aonhe, RED_E¥E, JAYTIDE, Yuxin Ying - Consciousness

Reviewed by Reggie Katz

 

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Stream "Consciousness" via RED_E¥E's LinkTree page!

 

Hi everyone! I’m so excited to share  RED_E¥E, aonhe, JAYTIDE, and Yuxin Ying’s latest single, “Consciousness”, with you all this month! After reviewing Through the Hole in the World… and “Dance With Me”, two projects from RED_E¥E which I thoroughly enjoyed, I was thrilled to find out that he dropped another track this month with 3 collaborators that did nothing but bring out all of each other’s myriad strengths.

 

"…we had to record a podcast for one of our classes (but really felt like we wanted to make an experimental track), and I got very obsessed with the idea of consciousness. So I prompted the davinci model on OpenAI to write about why consciousness is violent and what consciousness is. It spit out some really creepy stuff, so we went on from there." –Anzhelika Nastashchuk a.k.a. aonhe

 

"The song started as the final project for our Fundamentals of Music Technology class with Professor Charles Mueller in Spring 2022… The assignment was to make a podcast but I think we kinda just wanted to make a song more than anything… Anzhelika generated a pretty interesting AI script for the podcast that Elizabeth and I spoke in the track, and before long Anzhelika had turned into an ambient electronic piece sprinkled with her beautiful backing vocals." –Rain Edward a.k.a. RED_E¥E 

 

The song starts out with pulsating synth chords that gradually build until Rain’s voice comes in, speaking a brief monologue about consciousness and the problems that he sees in it, all voiced through a robotic-esque tone. Around the one-minute mark, a sweeping array of synths fly in and the use of panning makes them feel like they are swooping over you. This synth arrangement, featuring a plethora of different synths with very distinguished textures, builds for a little bit until they are stripped out partially. Here, aonhe’s voice comes in, with a robotic tone similar to Rain’s voice continuing his monologue about consciousness, what it means, and what it “really is.” After aonhe finishes her verse, there’s an interlude-sounding moment with a couple of the synths used previously, until the beat drop starts to build. The build into the beat drop and beat drop itself is so good that I think you should just go on your streaming service right now, listen to it, and then come back and finish the rest of this review if your brain is still intact! What makes this beat drop so great is that it really starts building as soon as the song starts, making the drop so satisfying when it finally happens. The drums on the drop have a really great stereo image and the sounds used to create the synths and risers sound like they were custom-made for this track as I have never heard anything like them before. The production is so clever and unique, and it flowed so perfectly. I would even go so far as to say this is the best beat drop I’ve heard from a music tech student in the last year. I loved how the main synth with the super crunchy sound was introduced and intertwined throughout the beginning of the song and it ended up being the most audible synth on the build to the drop. After the drop, the soft synths walking under us stay in a mellow place with various adlibs from aonhe. Some drums and bass come in that get us back in the groove of things. As if one incredible beat drop wasn’t enough, there’s a second one that’s just as great as the first! The track fades out with what sounds like a slightly varied version of the softer synths heard earlier in the track along with the occasional drum beat coming back in, and the glitchy adlib vocals similar to those that came before.

 

"…I started to feel like ['Consciousness'] needed something spicy so I produced and stitched in the first drop that you can hear in the final track. Then, I sent the stems over to Justin [JAYTIDE] who worked with my drop to structure a second drop. We turned it in and then sat on it… until last winter break, when I started mixing the track again. I added in my vocals and changed up the structure to make the track a little more dynamic… Overall, the track took nearly a year to actually complete and release. It feels really great to finally have it out." –Rain Edward a.k.a. RED_E¥E

 

The grungy electronic genre may not be for everyone, but I have no doubt that any music listener can respect what RED_E¥E, aonhe, JAYTIDE, and Yuxin Ying did here. This track is up there for one of my favorite releases I have heard from the Music Tech community, and one of the most brilliantly produced songs I have ever heard. Besides the production, which lives between experimental electronic music and grunge electronic music, the first thing that stands out about this song is how well it is mixed. It truly sounds like a mix that someone would pay thousands for. This group knows how to complement each other. Based on how great every aspect of this track is, it’s apparent that each group member knew how to work together to create the best possible final song. I hope that they eventually collaborate again, as this song was pure magic.

P.H.0 - Ascension 飛升

Reviewed by Ash

 

Stream "Ascension 飛升" through P.H.0's Linktree, and be sure to check out the collective on Instagram.

 

MTech collective P.H.0, an electronic music group comprised mostly of graduates of our program, first caught my attention this month with their new single, titled "Ascension 飛升". Its five members—Jun, SEN, Minghim, Chi-chi, and Zheyu—bring a wide variety of talents to the collective's work: Chi-chi is the group's resident "master erhuist", Jun plays post-rock guitar, Minghim specializes in modular synthesis, Zheyu plays drums, and SEN serves as the primary producer of the group's work. I'm not sure I've encountered a collective act before, at least within MTech, that embraces such a wide collision of talents from musical lanes that might seem unrelated to some, and this was a large part of the reason why I found myself so excited to write this review. Encountering artists who can break down the borders between genres to create something familiar but also fresh is perhaps the thing about reviewing music that brings me the most joy, and I'm pleased to say that P.H.0 was an extremely refreshing discovery on my end, meshing influences from a vast array of varying styles that come together to make something truly unlike anything I've ever heard before.

"A futuristic, cybernetic nomad riding across the vast Gobi desert in the dark, with the neon-lit cityscape of the monolith-looking Mongolian capital radiating from afar in the background—this Cyberpunk-influenced visual that I once saw in my dream eventually inspired the creation of this song." –Howard Ouyang a.k.a. SEN

"Ascension 飛升" opens on a hollow, almost-vocal synth pad that articulates a loosely pentatonic texture as a massive synth bass enters underneath. The track's opening is truly epic, as the synth sounds used convey a massive sense of scale; there's also some traditional East Asian instruments in the mix, as there's a low bowed string of some sort (maybe a zhonghu?) in the left channel that's rocking enough distortion that it almost feels like a warped electric guitar, and a beautiful pentatonic erhu melody cuts right down the center of the stereo field. The weeping, singsong timbre of the erhu is used exceptionally well here, and Chi-chi plays it with a wonderfully expressive touch. I really like its placement within the piece as a lead instrument; it's a fantastic foundational element around which everything else can arrange itself. Soon enough, though, we get a frenetic, fast-paced, complex breakbeat that ratchets the track's energy up to 11 and swerves us into drum and bass territory in a fantastic beat switch. The instrumental texture here is sparse—none of the melodic elements are too busy, and there's plenty of space to breathe, but the frequency spectrum is utilized to its fullest nonetheless, and the consistent bed of background chords maintains its epic feel.

 

"…I was listening to a lot of breakcore, mainly Sewerslvt, and decided to entertain the idea of combining the drum n' bass element and the synth-driven ambient washes in breakcore with progressive metal or 'cyber metal' in the kind of Northlane or 3TEETH…" –Howard Ouyang a.k.a. SEN

 

P.H.0 doesn't let us stay in this space for long, though, as we experience a meteoric collapse out of this first section into heavy metal guitar power chords and triplet hi-hats. There's a lot of sound effects here worth exploring, which I imagine are Minghim's contributions from the world of modular synthesis; I caught some scream-like noises, reverbed drums, and warbling synthesizer downers whizzing by in the background, which gives this section a distinctly cinematic feel. Soon, the drums begin to build once again as Jun's guitar comes to full prominence and we're into this section that feels like a Dorian Electra-style crossover between the aesthetics of dubstep and black metal, complete with halftime, pounding drum samples and distorted Phrygian guitar chugging. This moment was perhaps my favorite in the whole track; avid readers know that I love distorted guitar in electronic music, and its use here was exceptional, bringing an edgy yet organic element that never feels at odds with the piece's synth-heavy beginnings. The surrounding production was also really interesting; I caught some interplay between what sounded like a distorted electric bass and a rounded, heavy 808-esque synth bass that made for a very rhythmically diverse low end that I thought was really cool. Soon enough, we leave metal territory and the erhu returns, this time with some extra trills and ornaments that spice up this very austere melody just enough to keep things interesting. The tempo speeds up heading into the last leg of the track, where Jun's guitar and Chi-chi's erhu come together in a beautiful union, backed by what I can only assume is Zheyu on the drums. The track closes out on a beautiful punk-style breakdown, with heavy power chords and crashing drums backing Chi-chi's increasingly fast-paced erhu playing until the track explodes on a couple of snare hits that signal its ending.

 

"We… decided to replace the original morin khuur (known as the Mongolian cello) sample we stole from the Internet with Chi-chi's live erhu, which was recorded and engineered by our synth/electronic artist Minghim… Chi-chi decided to alter her usual playing style to mimic the kind of pitch fluctuation, a signature playing style of the morin khuur that is ubiquitous in traditional Mongolian folk music, as a way to connect to and illustrate the nomadic theme that we wanted to convey through this track." –Howard Ouyang a.k.a. SEN

There's a lot to love about "Ascension 飛升". Although it sounds nothing like what I'd conventionally consider hyperpop, it hits with the same sort of unhinged maximalism that is prevalent in the works of 100 gecs and Charli XCX, embracing a similarly insane mesh of crossgenre elements that come together to create something that itself defies genre. I really enjoyed the fusion of East Asian instruments and musicality with electronic music; Chi-chi's presence on this one brought so much melodic character and personality to the track, and really makes me wish I knew how to play erhu! Jun and Zheyu combined to give this already-crossgenre fusion of Mongolian traditional folk music & drum and bass a distinctly metal bent. I catch shades of Tony Iommi and Mick Thomson in Jun's heavy, percussive style of play, which synergized perfectly with SEN and Zheyu's work in creating a diverse drum palette that merges both samples and live drums into a colossal, momentum-driven package. Of course, Minghim's work in creating the sound effects and synth ambiences for this piece shouldn't be glossed over either; I imagine that much of the credit for the cinematic, sweeping feel of this piece goes to him. I truly have no constructive feedback to give—"Ascension 飛升" is a breakneck journey of insane proportions, approaching a listening experience that flirts with maximalism to the point of teetering on sensory overload in a way, but I think that's what makes it so perfect. At the end of it all, I think P.H.0 is positioned for something really exciting, and something tells me their crossgenre sensibilities may one day take us to places we've truly never been to before.

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That's all for this month's edition, but stay tuned for some very exciting stuff coming out in the near future! We've got an album review of Kai Banda's Days At Home further on down the pipeline. Secondly, the question of Ash's identity will finally be revealed—after which we hope to come back stronger than ever with artist interviews, concert reviews, and maybe even short-form video content. Safe to say that I'm really excited for how this is gonna turn out, and as always, I'm so incredibly grateful to be on this journey with all of you. In the meantime, reach out to us if you release anything new, and we'll be sure to give it a look! Thanks so much and Reggie and I will be back in April!

-Ash