2012 may be without a clear landmark album (at least so my producer friends keep complaining), but the singles scene (ahem) has been terrific. Perhaps that suggests a musical landscape in which electronic artists prefer exploration to tightly-controlled packages.
Whatever is going on, techno is dirty and grungy again. Just ask the UK’s Untold. Last week, Mixmag hosted a video premiere for his track “Overdrive,” with animator Iain Acton. Their story and comments:
WATCH UNTOLD ‘OVERDRIVE’ VIDEO EXCLUSIVE [Mixmag]
Talking about music, as the saying goes, is tough stuff. I love what Untold is doing, a sense of the enduring innovative spirit in the UK. We spoke to Untold about that earlier this summer – watch for our CDM video interview.
But in the meantime, perhaps the animation is the perfect vessel. Iain Acton’s work is playful, crisp cartoon characters and lively machinery, glyphs that could at once be online avatars and designer synth user interface. These animations dance in the way that music makes you dance – dancing that can even happen inside your head. They’re retro, but also fresh in a way that suggests a more modern filter.
And Untold’s work is a perfect answer to anyone who says modern dance productions have to be cut and paste. He’s still exploring new sounds, amidst some impressive commercial success. Some of his original works, via SoundCloud, make great listening for today: