Dayoung’s ‘Latency’ drops in a Baroque-meets-industrial cacophony of sound
Strange and singular, the project via Chinabot is described as ‘an existential crisis on the dancefloor’
Seoul-based Dayoung drops latest her EP ‘Latency’, out now with the Korean label Chinabot.
With its twisted baroque melodies and retro synth flourishes, the project transports baroque-style instrumentation straight into a dystopian soundscape, with the sound described as ‘an existential crisis on the dancefloor’.
As well as the baroque and industrial, the EP dips into bass, tribal and more, making for a strange but worthwhile listen.
Pounding drums often lay down a haunting foundation throughout the project, while on some tracks eerie, stacked melodies and off-kilter samples lead the way, intensifying the EP’s heavy atmosphere and uncomfortable air, resulting in a disorienting but sometimes magnetic listen.
Dayoung crafts an experience that is as strange as it is singular. It calls to mind the visceral, avant-garde styles of artists like Tzusing or B E N N but, at times, sadly, with less direction and purpose.
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The standout tracks include 'Disturbing Choir' and 'Expired'. 'Disturbing Choir' sets an intense scene with relentless kicks and breakbeats, building a nightmarish atmosphere heightened by stacked synths that swell into a dark, eerie choir-like resonance.
On the flip side, 'Expired' takes on Latin American tresillo rhythms, layering them over pulsating bass and hefty kicks for a dramatic, but somewhat inconclusive finale.
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Speaking on the project, Dayoung said, “I aim to express emotions such anxiety and uneasiness into experimental, deconstructed sounds that are still more or less describable in dance-floor grammar. Strong sounds and textures are a kind of release for me. Subversive music is an outlet. It screams out things I can’t say in words.”
The project comes accompanied by a mix inspired by the release, out via Seoul Community Radio, plus supporting mixes from artists August and Maze.
Purchase Dayoung 'Latency' here.
Henry Cooper is a Writer at Mixmag Asia. Follow him on Instagram.
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