Following his collaborative album with Alessandro Cortini back in March, Daniel Avery has just dropped a surprise album “Love + Live.” A formidable 14-track album, “Love + Live” was produced during lockdown and released just a few weeks after being finished. In Avery’s own words, “this record has been a real positive force of energy in my life, to the point where it almost formed itself in front of me. In that same spirit, I wanted to share it with you now, as soon as it was finished.”
Split into two distinct halves, the album features a more club-oriented Side A and a more ambient Side B. Take “Darlinnn” from Side A. There is a peak-time force driving the whole production forward with a momentous build of muffled drums and tactile textures. There is a new layer of musical elements coming in every few bars, and each of them is unleashed at the right timing. Avery maintains a poised balance, building hypnotizing atmospherics around a warehouse techno foundation that’s always on the verge of an intense climax — harsh yet meditative at the same time. “Dream Distortion” carries on the same narrative, pairing crispy and raw drum sequences with glitchy, dreamy synth work.
The end result is a delicateness instilled with a digital allure that will give a sense of tranquility on any warehouse dance floors. But there is enough variety even just within Side A, as “Searing Light, Forward Motion” doubles down on the industrial flavor, “Infinite Future” comes with an enigmatic force of experimental downtempo. Side B on the other hand, serves up a blissful asylum for the listeners amidst the craziness going on at the moment. The emphasis is on the pensive interplay between the introspective melodies and moody atmosphere. Rhythms are almost a subtle afterthoughts in most of the tracks here.
While there is an obvious distinction between the two sides, the common theme is the calm, profound and reflective mood they both deliver. Avery emphasizes that these two sides “were inexorably tied together. One could not have existed without the other.”
Stream/purchase the record here.
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