I Am Robot And Proud - Lucky Static

Darla
(DRL340: 708527034026/DRL340-3)
Release date: 11/02/2018
Genre: Electronic

$12.00

The beautiful new ninth studio album from Toronto's indie electronic music creator and video game designer Shaw-Han Liem, aka I Am Robot And Proud.

On Lucky Static, Liem developed a unique approach where songs were constructed in tandem with reactive computer-generated animations. “Interpreting music visually became an important part of how I composed this album. It might sound strange, but many of these songs started out as Instagram posts - geometric animation concepts, with music being fed into them using homemade software. I spent a year creating and posting these computer programs online as wordless meditations... audio-visual loops that appear in your timeline as peaceful musical moments. Observing how the shapes reacted to different rhythms and pitch combinations would feed into the songwriting process for each track.”

The resulting 10 tracks feature Liem’s trademark interlocking melodies and sample-chopped rhythms, meshed with acoustic and electric guitar as well as toy instruments and homemade electronic gadgets. Mesmerizing, mood-altering, pain-relieving, hypnotic, flow expediting, life extending, joyful and peaceful music. The album was mastered by Sandro Perri (Constellation Records).

Liem has enjoyed a prolific career spanning decades and disciplines. He co-designed the PlayStation 4 game Sound Shapes, and contributed to its soundtrack alongside Beck and Deadmau5. He has performed and collaborated with media artists Daito Manabe (Perfume, Rhizomatics) and Toshio Iwai (Tenori-On). His musical output includes 8 full-length albums, remixes for Yellow Magic Orchestra's Yukihiro Takahashi and commissions for labels such as Ghostly International, Arts & Crafts, Asthmatic Kitty, and Avex Japan.

“Delicate synths are paired with a buoyant drum machine groove, making this simultaneously bittersweetly nostalgic and energetically upbeat. “ - Exclaim

“His intricate electro-pop is gentle, melodic and warmly organic.” - NPR All Things Considered

“Glittering electro-pop instrumentals of great introspective charm.” - The Wire

1. A Small House

2. Ginkgo

3. My Algo

4. A Dot in Air

5. Lucky Static

6. Chime

7. Imaginary Gadgets

8. No New Neon

9. Fischinger’s Walk

10. TaTiTuTeTo