Introduction
brokenkites – Deus Ex Communication
Artist: brokenkites
Title / Release Page: Deus Ex Communication
Release Date: 2014 Oct 08
Genre: Electronic
License: CC BY-NC-ND
Media: MP3 / OGG / FLAC
Pricing: Name Your Price
Label: BandCamp
Rating: ★★★★★★
When it comes to electronic music I am an omnivore, gobbling up many different styles and traditions dating as far back as the 1950’s all the way up to current EDM styles. I do have some styles of electronic music that I prefer over others, and brokenkites Deus Ex Communication definitely falls into the style that I prefer.
brokenkites Deus Ex Communication
brokenkites has twenty three releases under his belt at this point, a fairly solid record for any artist. HIs music composition style is strong and well-developed. Going into one of his releases I know what to expect: a specific range of textures, an the types of rhythm he is going to use.
Now sometimes I would say this is good things. There are artist that haven’t matured to a point where there music feels cohesive. That certainly isn’t the case with brokenkites. However, the problem is that brokenkites work doesn’t feel like it has advanced at all, and rather it has reached a point where it is becoming difficult to distinguish one release from the next.
In fact, as I listened to Deus ex Communication, I kept having flash back feelings. Like I was listening to electronic music from the 1990’s. This is reflected in the sound stems or patches that are being used, but also in the production style. For example, on the track Piru there are a lot of sounds stacked on top of each other, to the point where part of the detail is getting lost…this was clearly the kind of production issues independent artists faced back in the 1990’s that have long since been solved.
That being said the music on this release is enjoyable. Each track is tightly composed, and well structured. But that is also, potentially, a fault. Using the same hooks he has developed over previous records makes for a release that is indistinguishable from Birds With Blackest Hearts, or even Brand Loyalty.
This doesn’t mean that I feel brokenkites needs to drop everything that he is doing on his recordings. Rather, I just get the feeling that these works are becoming too easy to pop out. They are almost formulaic. I think it’s time for brokenkites to explore some, find some new inspiration to integrate into his style, find some new things to keep his listeners surprised and interested in his work.
Conclusion
This is an okay release. It’s it solidly composed and constructed. But it just feels like it is lacking something. Lacking a new development, a new direction to, some new texture. Something to make it stand out from the other releases that have come before it.
