Wyatt Keusch
http://beardrock.com/reviews/w
(Originally published in The Edinburgh Journal and Beard Rock)
Category: IDM/ Experimental / Down tempo
Album: Object Relation
Stars: 3
Blurb: LA sound artist serves up a bleak side of Hollywood.
Intelligent Dance Music is a much loathed musical term, denounced by almost every credible artist in the genre. Wyatt Keusch is one of the few IDM exponents who embraces his title and the accompanying notion that all other modes of dance music are redundant re-treads.
A long time native of LA, Wyatt Penn Keusch isn’t the kind of artist you’d expect to’ve hailed from Hollywood. His music is dark, uncompromising and shrouded in ambiguity. Had he grown up in the emotionally withdrawn Bavarian outback or frolicked a lonely boy on the hills of some Scandinavian isle – then sure, his music would make a lot of sense. Describing his work as “sound art”, Object – Relation isn’t the kind of album you might stick on repeat on a sunny Sunday morning before heading off to collect your daily paper. Using modular synth and dated software programmes to create the atmospheric landscapes in each song, Wyatt Keusch doesn’t want you to enjoy his music - he doesn’t even want you to consider it music at all…
Objective Relation uses subtlety and intimation to better explain the interaction between human beings through machines. Wyatt Keusch is solely concerned with spontaneity, co-habitual relations, and all things rich in meaning. He rejects things like song structure or hooks outright. If you have the patience for it, Object-Relation could prove very rewarding…really!
Running over an hour in length, Object-Relation beats the listener into submission in the most fragile way imaginable. Digital samples and drum overlays sound more like fingers punching down keys on a typewriter than anything else (Object 02 (track 2) is a good example of this). The absence of any definable instrument means Wyatt Keusch’s music gets to really pound home that sense of cold detachment found in technologically dominated landscapes. You’ll maybe hear faint piano’s or recognise vague impressions of instruments in the midst of it all, but often they blur and mesh together to form a unique, otherworldly noise you can’t quite put your finger on. If you’re in the mood for reflection or even if you’re just the introspective type, you may just’ve stumbled across the new soundtrack to your life. That said it’s not everyone’s tipple. The album requires perseverance. It requires an understanding of Keusch’s objective and a willingness to listen to the album in its correct context.
Object-Relation is challenging but remains a commendable addition to the IDM catalogue.
Track List
Track01.Object 1
Track02.Object2
Track03.Object3
Track04.Object4
Track05.Object5
Track06.Object6
Track07.Object7
Track08.Object8
Track09.Object9
Track10.Object10
Track11.Object11
Wyatt Keusch Official - http://wyattkeusch.com
Wyatt Keusch twitter - twitter.com/Wyatt Keusch
Wyatt Keusch Indie-Feed - http://indiefeed.com/artist-fanpack-11703
Wyatt Keusch Vimeo - http://vimeo.com/khalija
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