I read a statement that Dean Blunt made in The Guardian which explained: «I don’t really see things as solo or not. Circumstances make certain things come to the front more. Circumstances out of my control, sometimes. The only work I do is to not be destructive as a result of these circumstances, and channel them into something else». So what were the circumstances? «Wish I remembered,» he replies. «It was all whirlwind, heat and flash,» he adds, quoting a line from Sonic Youth’s Goo sleeve. [1]
This was a reply to the questions about his breakup with Inga Copeland, his musical partner from the Hype Williams duo.
I would recap his faith in change and his rejection of any desire to define himself within a precise genre as such.
His music is a trail, a pathway towards a personal form of truth to be shared with the public, even if only for a few minutes. It’s a battle against every fear, every stability and anything that is not motion.
His live shows are real performances: bare and smoky stages, his body moving in the dark. Our gaze, immersed in the sound, is free to travel into profound places.
After his breakup with Inga Copeland, Dean Blunt came into the spotlight with three albums: «The Narcisists II» (Hippos in Tanks, 2012), «The Redeemer» (Hippos in Tanks, 2013) and his most recent on «Black Metal» (Rough Trade, 2014). Slow rhythm, noise, collages of new sounds and a dark voice on the first two; an atmosphere that leans towards pop with rhythmic melodies and clear lyrics on the latest album.
The Narcisists II reproduces a fragmented 2.0. sound: interference, overlapping dialogues, atmospheric sounds (Direct Line), guitar riffs, highlights of scenes from film (Are You As Good As I Remember), a soundcloud set on ‘play’ and the ringing of a mobile phone (Direct Line 2)
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«Black Metal» is the proof of great skill: the rediscovery of pop with passages that range from dub to a slightly de-constructed rap and dialogues among low, dim voices as well as guitar and drum riffs.
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And «The Redeemer» is a passage. Vocal manipulations, sound collages as well as guitar and percussion ostinatos.
I chose «All Dogs go to Heaven», a cut on Gainsbourg’s wonderful Histoire de Melody Nelson.
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[1] http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/dec/02/dean-blunt-hype-williams
“I don’t really see things as solo or not. Circumstances make certain things come to the front more. Circumstances out of my control, sometimes. The only work I do is to not be destructive as a result of these circumstances, and channel them into something else”. So what were the circumstances? “Wish I remembered”, he replies. “’It was all whirlwind, heat and flash”, he adds, quoting a line from Sonic Youth’s Goo sleeve.
