Published by Davide Pappalardo on April 21, 2019
Diasiva is the collaborative project from Monolog (Mads Lindgren), and Swarm Intelligence (Simon Hayes), characterized by IDM structures, breakcore elements, downtempo atmospheres and abrasive industrial sounds with noise undertones. Formed in 2011 for the first edition of Burn The Machine Festival in Subland, Berlin, they debuted on Ohm Resistance with their album Doublefade in 2016, showcasing their highly personal and structured brand of experimental electronic music influenced by modular synthesis
After the release of their EPs Sabo (Subtrakt, 2016) and Station 1805 (Acroplane Recordings, 2017), they now return with a third one for Instruments Of Discipline, called Thirst. Here, they push their experimentation along with the evolution of current DSP (the use of digital processing to perform a wide variety of signal processing operations), drawing inspiration from the detritus of West Berlin and its urban scenarios.
Pimesons welcomes us with its dark soundscapes with dark ambient qualities and sharp sounds, showing a cinematic structure with micro-sounds and sudden explosions of thundering beats and precise syncopated rhythms. An intelligent songwriting controls the track, never indulging in banality, and choosing wisely when to interrupt the obsessive ride with grim ambiances. Hidden elements and subtle effects keep the attention of the listener high, and if you are waiting for a simple club number, you will be sorely disappointed. Meson is a distorted affair with broken sounds and industrial atmospheres, a dark sci-fi track full of tension and burst of surgical rhythmic patterns. The apt use of distortions and steady steel-like drums give us a perfect base for the sonic experimentation of the duo, keeping us captive in their grim world.
Vapor construct starts with abrasive noisescapes and digital pulses, underlined by a dramatic crescendo made of urgent elements; the track explodes into a bass oriented number with modular sounds and hard hitting drums. Alienating vortexes and lysergic atmospheres interrupt our voyage, but rest assured that broken rhythms and syncopated movements are not forsaken. Debris ends the EP with its dark IDM style, starting with distorted effects and then developing a frantic movement made of micro-rhythms and fractured sounds. A fusion of shrilling elements and urban soundscapes dominates the episode, giving us a vision of industrial music updated to the new millennium and the digital age. The language of the machines is used in order to describe the decadence of our daily world.
Thirst is an accomplished work which in the time-frame of four tracks says more than many albums, informed by a modern synthesis of sounds and sources. In a time when many projects look to the past, Diasiva choose instead to search for the signs of today’s corruption and the hidden promises of a possible better future. A skillful songwriting and a precise sound-design offer an engaging experience requiring a focused listener – this is not throwaway music with a disposable nature, this is aural nourishment for the mind. Enter the future with Diasiva and their music, you wont regret it.
Label: Instruments Of Discipline
Rating: 9