SEATTLE-BASED DARK ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC DJ
BEST OF 2023
EPs
CRITERIA FOR EP: An Extended Play record has more songs than a single (two at the most, which back in the day was standard for A & B side), but less than your traditional LP (minimum 8 songs, about 45+ minutes in length).
Dark Chisme
Yo Puedo Vivir Sin Ti
Those of us in Seattle know of this artist as DJ Gold Chisme, who has captivated dance floors all over the area both within the scene and out. Now she takes a stab at producing her own music with her debut EP Yo Puedo Vivir Sin Ti. Heavily influenced by a lot of the artists she spins, she blends modern darkwave sounds with house and techno rhythms and elements that provides the foundation for impeccably performed vocals that makes this sound quite polished for a self-produced debut record.
Die Sexual
Bound
This three song EP from the LA based duo of Die Sexual has snuck its way into my setlists for various events, which owes itself to the versatility of these dark energetic sounds and how they can plug its way into any alternative electronic set list. There's influences of electropop, techno, EBM, as well as hints of italo sprinkled within these three songs that are dark, sexy and menacing but not nihilistic, mopey or, for a lack of a better term, "Boy Harsher-y"?
Fiero
Pulse Seductor
Belgian new beat created by a Columbian-born Kyrgyzstani artist. Yeah that wasn't on my bingo card, either...but this five song sophomore release has all the elements you look for in that sound and then some. Clean and powerful beats with metallic synth basslines and random vocal samples tossed in. It's a simple formula but yet has a complexity that doesn't seem like it's overdone.
Healng
self-titled
I don't know too much about this Cincinnati-based project, which based on its Bandcamp page also is associated with another project called Smilegroup which had a very similar yet more raw sound. Nonetheless, I came across this on the I Die: You Die Telekon Slack channel and was immediately impressed with this classic EBM sound that also isn't afraid to put a "donk" on it.
Stoneburner
The Great Filter
Leave it to Steven Archer to develop a piece of art based on a concept, in this case being Robin Hanson's theory of the same name...and leave it to him to write music that perfectly illustrates the concept. It's a unique blend of noisy yet rhythmically pleasing grooves with abrasive yet soothing synths and guitars mixed in with Steven's trademark distorted vocal processing; a sonic enigma that is hard-hitting and bleak, yet etched within your memory like some sort of reality check for humanity warning it of its impending demise. As an added bonus, you also get a pretty decent cover of Psychadelic Furs' "Book of Days". An incredible follow-up to 2021's Industrial/EBM Honourable Mention Apex Predator.