S8JFOU: Cynism (Parapente Music, 2020)
November 13, 2020 at 8:50 pm | Posted in Reviews | 1 Comment
S8JFOU: Cynism
is a French electronic musician who lives in a small, self-built, solar-powered cabin on the side of a snow-covered mountain, where he pretty much does nothing but make music all day using self-designed digital synths. Basically, he is living the life we could only dream of, and his music is fascinating. He’s released a few albums since 2016, but
Cynism is the first I’ve heard. It’s generally describably as wondrous yet playful glitch-heavy IDM, with lots of spluttery analog effects. He has an amazing way of making sharp, frigid beats mix with gentle, icy melodies, yet it doesn’t sound quite like any of the other artists doing pretty melodic IDM, post-Arovane, Morr Music, Kettel, etc. He definitely has a more Ilian Tape-inspired way of incorporating breakbeats, but it’s less club-driven than that, even if there’s some fractured garage-ish rhythms. There’s even some moments where he plays dusky trumpet solos. The song titles point to childhood nostalgia but he doesn’t cover well-trodden territory and sample the voices of playing children or emulate grainy public television show soundtracks or anything like that. It’s just highly original electronic music which follows its own whims. I’m in awe of this artist.
The Answer Is In The Beat 
Hi, it’s s8jfou, thanks a lot for this little review. Really kind words and apparently a close attention to the details. I appreciate that.
All the best š
Comment by s8jfou— November 15, 2020 #