The six-track tape is the first project from Hemsworth’s own “Secret Songs” record label, created to highlight lesser-known producers.
Months ago, one of the label’s featured freshman producers was Seattle-based producer Lucas. Now, the genre-bending kid is being thrust into spotlight next to Hemsworth on a new concept EP.
The name “Taking Flight” implies something uplifting and powerful. But upon listening, this primarily-instrumental EP sounds more like a robot being sedated with copious amounts of morphine – in a shocking, beautiful way.
I know what you’re thinking. Stay with me.
“Taking Flight” expresses a turbulent emotional side of electronic music that exists in a realm apart from dime-a-dozen dancefloor tracks and festival trap bangers. The first song, “Angel,” doesn’t greet listeners with a four-four kick drum loop or massive synth chords, but rather with glitchy percussion, nylon guitar and ghostly vocals.
This world of electronic music is largely unnoticed by typical EDM fans, but contains exponentially more fluid and diverse concepts and artists. “Taking Flight” isn’t for “raging” or “getting turnt.” It’s for listeners who value unadulterated, uninfluenced creative expression.
Sounds from “Taking Flight” piggyback off an aesthetic Hemsworth spent years pioneering: a high-production low-fidelity sound that disregards genre lines. The music is engineered to be playfully clumsy and emotional, while maintaining a sense of tonal cohesion.
Overall, the EP feels like a very honest collaboration. Lucas and Hemsworth generally make more upbeat music on their own, so listening to the duo create an emotionally-fueled album is refreshing and awe-inspiring.
“Taking Flight” will make you feel something. This project conveys an obvious post-electronica and post-rock ambiance that listeners will connect with, despite its somber and foreign feeling.
Listen to “Taking Flight” below:
