Darkside - Psychic
Matador
October 4th, 2013.
The aesthetically cool world of Darkside, Nicolas Jaar and David Harrington, comes about through molding tribal beats and iridescent dreams. The city is a definite place where Psychic lives, thrives, even, however it simultaneously taps into a mental desert - a visceral landscape that treads on the brink of no mans land. Abandoned and cold - with moments of brief but beautiful warmth - Darkside's debut packs all the qualities of what you would simply refer to as 'mood music'.
A breathing blend of IDM and a dash of psychedelic values, Psychic develops through rigorously loose progressions - they feel like they're spontaneous, almost out of nowhere, but have been worked into the frame through seeds sewn way back. Incremental changes in sound shift the gaze from space ambiance to street ambiance - the faintest of grooves repositions pictures provided by the minds eye. The mind is tunneled down a shoot of urban ethereality - soothingly sleazy. The electric sheen of the sidewalk reflects back a wet, cool and blue-hued buzz. The sexiest of sound palettes is backed by the dampest of downtempo treks - it's a trudging journey through the wild west; if the wild west had malfunctioning horses, blown circuits on a daily basis, and a fair share of Big Brother's booming voice in a cowboys ear.
Blade Runner is a movie that comes to mind when Psychic plays. The tinges of industrial atmosphere mixed with the fuzz of electric heat and visions of reflective pavements creates a succinct sight aswell as sound. The smell of rain and the feeling of damp atmosphere lingers along the trail.
All of these memories that you hold close to your heart will one day be lost like tears in the rain - becoming one with the rest of time, the rest of eternity. Letting go hurts, but holding on impairs.
