The Answer Is In The Beat

møziz: E​-​møtion: Time Machine + Cycles (Collection Disques Durs, 2021)

May 30, 2021 at 3:21 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

The debut album from møziz, a producer from the Ivory Coast who’s now based in Montreal, is a 19-track set of warm-but-wintry, expressive techno and IDM tracks which clearly aim to capture a wide range of feelings. The tracks are spacious yet busy and highly considered yet filled with spontaneous energy. “Time Machine (The Night of My Life)” switches from skittering electro to a steadier but still swift BPM tempo, beautifully incorporating vocal phrases and delicate melodies, as well as dubby percussion attacks. “When I Can’t Stand I Float” is a great title for a song that slowly rises rather than walks upright, and still seems like it just started when it fades away after 5 minutes. The haunting atmospheric trap of “Oosx” takes a darkly realistic turn with the addition of the words “We don’t want to do anything to scare your children” and police sirens near the end. The braindance-dubstep highlight “War” is immediately reprised by its “emo edit”, and while the original was emotive enough, this version fleshes it out and makes it trippier without losing its affectionate core. “Butterflyeffects” was the first track released in advance of the album, and it hooked me immediately with its abrasive beats at the beginning, then surprised me with how it progressed into faster and more slowly drifting parts, with rippling textures and nostalgic melodies all appearing and resurfacing later. It feels like a sort of audio community rather than a properly structured song, if that makes sense. møziz truly has a skill for making electronic compositions that feel like living, breathing entities.