DXE

Following up his debut on Chino Amobi's Intelligent Models with ÆOS, critical lyricist DÆMON teams up with Hyperdub's affiliate and dark alchemist Endgame for a forceful collaborative EP that summons haunting ambiences with powerful passages and persuading rhythms.

Oscillating between the xenomorphic vocal capacities from DÆMON and the haunting club explorations of Endgame, DXE is a collection of industrial compositions that conceive an esoteric setting where two colliding forces unite for an intriguing and provocative exordium. A correspondence that inherits the divergent influences of the counter cultural soundscapes of Oakland and London - the artists hometowns - in a prodigious way.

The dark approach on the dancehall-inspired vocal performance from DÆMON is a highlight that contrasts with the experimental impressions of Endgame's production, switching widely from punk to dembow motives within a contemporary take on overwhelming electronic explorations as a divergent complement that enrich the duo's exhilarating approach.

Introspective scopes define each track from the record. Let me breath is a crushing encounter for the prosaic verses of DÆMON, as his spoken word opens up a sonic void with overdrive motives. While the indulging energy of Queue shows off a more danceable side of DÆMON with a demonical dancehall inspired beat, in Eye Teeth, his bars match perfectly with the cybernetic warfare melodies from Endgame. Hearing him sing about being wounded within the act of liberation in Caged consolidates an acute poetry that fits thoroughly within a grinding techno beat, a devastating apocalyptic ballad culminates the record where an ethereal vocal from Deka repeats subtly on 530I.

It might be the presaging lines from DÆMON embracing the powerful and ominous production from Endgame that makes DXE a dark and a futuristic experience, envisioning a forward-thinking piece of puncturing yet suggestive experimental dance record.