Byrnes, Brendan: Micropangaea

Brendan Byrnes is a Los Angeles based avant-garde artist experimenting in electronic music. His latest album Micropangaea is a concept about, you guessed it, Micropangaea; a fictional continent that will form in earth's distant future.

Micropangaea is one of those albums that will require a little time and effort and will not be for everyone. First and foremost you need to like electronic music and go from there. It is not an immediate album by any means as the melodies do not jump out at you but they are there nonetheless. The music is built on textures with different elements colliding together creating some pretty intriguing soundscapes. Some of the songs flow quite nicely, particularly "Vacant City", the only song featuring Byrne's vocals which are actually quite nice, adding a poppy element to the overall electronic vibe. The album's last track "Fever Swimmer" was recorded live in the studio and features the guitar playing of five musicians. It's not a heavy tune but probably has the most angular arrangement.

The creative process used to make the album is an interesting one. I am not a music theorist but if terms like intonation and microtonal scales rings a bell then I suggest you check out the artist's website where the album's liner notes provide an interesting read.

Micropangaea is a pretty cool electronic album from an artist using some interesting techniques. Byrnes is certainly a creative musician and should make some waves in the electronic music genre.

Track listing:
1. Trillopod
2. Siolas
3. Fluorescent Desert
4. Vacant City
5. Eboa Ocean
6. Zibra Island
7. The Skies
8. Fever Swimmer (Live In Studio)

Added: December 28th 2012
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Artist's Official Site
Hits: 2553
Language: english

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