Review Summary: Death and rebirth
Many of us can relate to how devastating it feels when tech fails and files are cast into to the digital void. Hours, days, maybe even months or years are sunk into important projects, and then, just like that, it’s all
gone. Beyond the obvious inconvenience and logistical nightmare, this often poses a real crisis of identity. As humans, we naturally project ourselves onto and into whatever we’re creating; suddenly losing that can send us scrambling to recover a sense of self while mourning all that's been lost.
Under Tangled Silence was borne from such circumstance: a hard drive containing much of Felix Manuel's work went belly up and sent the English producer reeling. On his first outing in six years, Manuel (aka Djrum) reckons with this blank slate and bares his soul to deliver a kaleidoscopic, heartfelt, and thoroughly captivating album from the proverbial ashes of his studio. Throughout eleven tracks, he weaves together intricate electroacoustic music and modern-day club contortions to astonishing effect, balancing elegance and aggression without sacrificing narrative. The resulting music is strikingly clear, and a journey in the truest sense, apt to foster a unique feeling of closeness in its listener. During my own spins of
Under Tangled Silence, I haven’t been able to shake the sensation of being held, somehow comforted by a mysterious force.
Given how busy the music is at times, this is quite the feat. On another album, frequent glitched out sound effects and sharp stylistic shifts might feel harsh or otherwise unwelcome. But here, they’re an effective metaphor for the fragility of the music and its maker, providing a counterweight to the sprawling abundance on the rest of the album. By balancing these themes, Djrum is able to present his expression of death & rebirth without fatiguing the listener. Maybe I’m just a softie, but there’s something about
Under Tangled Silence that brings down my inner walls without stirring up my nervous system. Perhaps it can do the same for you.
