03. STARFAWN’S STARFAWN EP
So if you’ve checked any of the monthly mixes I’ve curated (most recent), you’ve indubitably heard some Starfawn. Popularized by the likes of ISO50 and LYFSTYL, Starfawn is the electronic collaboration between producer Misha Mross and vocalist Amber Schaefer that started last year. The first jam I ever heard by the two was by way of LYFSTYL’s “Mad Love in Crazy Times” playlist. While it took a few listens to grow on me, I knew immediately it was within the ball park of that specific avant-garde sound that I like. Starfawn’s dark and icy brand of downtempo features deep and blistering digital basslines (think Com Truise, and then turn it up some more), overdriven leads that are intentionally mixed too high, and desperate diva-esque vocals. The Starfawn EP, in its short entirety, encompasses the three tracks from the previously self-released Greenlight EP, along with three new creations, all of which take the bleak, caustic aura prevalent in earlier one-offs to some next level shit. According to Misha, the music is very much the work of a man trying to put into words something that isn’t altogether tangible, like a feeling or a dream, using the romantic, adventuresome sound of early NES and SNES soundtracks as a medium.
The above featured Synesthesiæ video for “12,000 B.C.”, the EP’s fatalistic outro, touches upon a subtle theme that seems to run throughout the duo’s small portfolio. The weakly plaintive notes that whirl about like space dust during man’s first walk on the moon are joined by Starfawn’s trademark VHS noise, mournful vocalization, and wobbly arpeggio. This last breath of a song is married perfectly with the footage compiled in the video: nature untouched by man’s hand, chemical reactions, time-lapse evolution, and at the very end, a human form silently acknowledging the form of a celestial body. It is up to the viewer to decide whether or not we’re witnessing the apocalyptic cleansing of man’s reign or perhaps the birth of our planet and of humanity. Starfawn’s Soundcloud is sparse, considering the two just started crafting these tunes, but the duo recently got picked up by Ghostly International’s sister label Moodgadget Records, which is known for acts such as Benoît Pioulard, Body Language, Mux Mool, and others. Signing on to a label, albeit a small independent one, is being done less and less these days among the hipster DIY crowd, and it may be seen by some purists as “corporatizing” good music, but a trustworthy label like Moodgadget should lead to some much needed exposure for them. Do tha right thing, and pony up some cold and hard for this newborn duo of artistic savants by buying the Starfawn EP via Amazon, iTunes, or their very own Bandcamp for only $4.
MP3 Download of “12,000 B.C.”, by Starfawn
MP3 Download of “Nothing Dead”, by Starfawn
