After a recent string of celebrated techno hits, UFO95 releases a full-length album on MORD titled “A Brutalist Dystopian Society” with a distinguished dark and grooving sound that proves to be one of the best techno albums this year.
UFO95 was doing a bunch of uptempo and rave party-rocking tracks a while back, but it seems that the recent collab with Rødhåd has inspired a more dystopian approach. Whether the album title reflects this as a nod to Rødhåd’s older Dystopian Label or not is up to speculation. The fortunate bit is that MORD has also begun championing this sound, moving away from its bleak distorted wall of sound. This shift has also been echoed by their other recent release by Uun, who has taken a similar shift on the MORD imprint with his album “Heavens Stitched to a Frame”.
With UFO95, there’s a push to keep things slow and grooving, full of call-and-response elements and also an emphasis on dark atmospheres and disembodied voices in “Obeissance,” “Artifact,” and “Solution.”
Where’s the bright, old rave-infused spirit in the live sets that UFO95 used to have, you may ask? Well, it is trying its best to shine through in “This Brutal Society” with the ravey pitched-up chord sequences, but all around those chords is this chaotic dripping darkness. The rave is being pulled back down into a cold reality that we are all possibly unprepared for.
Other titles on the album, like “Réalité Irréelle” and “Champ de Bataille” and “Oligarchy” and “ A World of Self Concern” point to a growing sentiment that we’re entering into a period of darkness and conflict that will be reflected in our moods and creative output. Dax J and Setaoc Mass have also expressed this growing concern and a similar dark sound and change has occurred in their sound.
With the only law of the land being PLUR and having that gradually worn down by external forces, it seems like our utopian society is turning into a brutal one we cannot ignore. Dark times might produce some hard and dark techno, but it might have been better if it was just a simulated darkness used for character and injecting a little seriousness into the music to keep things stern while the sound of EDM was going over the top at festivals.
This time around, and with albums like this and UFO95’s changing mood, we may be experiencing techno produced as a dark statement with genuine heavy hearts. “A Brutalist Dystopian Society” hits the nail on the head with its sense of grim apprehension and is certainly a reflection of our time.
This album is currently available as a vinyl + digital release on Bandcamp with a full digital release and vinyl at online retailers with streaming soon to follow.
-Sean Ocean
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