Addendum to "Top 50"

This...



This came to my ears late this year. But, currently, I find it to be the most fascinating album. It is, for this week, my #1 of 2013... Emphasis on "currently," but then, double-emphasis on "fascinating."

Meticulously arranging acoustic instruments (bass, piano and drums) for a 45-minute song-cycle that mimics the mechanized, looping structure of electronic music - That's right, organic-sounding instrumentation chiming, whirring, clicking and grooving as though they were composed and played-back through a digital interface... But it's the groves that give Dysnomia its appeal.

I mean, don't get me wrong - this is certainly an acquired taste and those with metronome-aversions should probably stay away. I wouldn't call it kitschy, (not yet, anyhow...) What drew me in, aside from the hypnotic beats and eerie minor keys atop a steadily lapping bass groove, was that this spoke to me as a statement upon the technological singularity... That humans, should they assign themselves and flex their mighty abilities of focus and disciplined musicianship, can be just as (or nearly as) perfect as machines. In Greek Mythology, the word Dysnomia suggests lawlessness... Curious, then, that this trio is purposefully playing with strict limitations. How much creativity can be flexed under the clamp of computer protocol?

Dawn of Midi