When you pair the increasing accessibility of music these days with electronic music's tendency to promote transiency, the speed at which artists come and go has increased exponentially. To last past a couple of releases - let alone years - is becoming somewhat of a rarity.

With this in mind, it speaks volumes for Lorn's music that he has managed to remain on people's lips for a number of years with very little of his music surfacing and without any of the aggrandizing self-promotion that abounds on the internet these days.

Lorn's name has been in the electronic ether for a long time, a mysterious entity lurking in the periphery, spoken of in revered tones by those in the know. With only one official release - the Grief Machine EP – and a handful of remixes to his name he has certainly been biding his time, but now with the release of his Nothing Else LP on Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder imprint, we will be able to hear the culmination of this time spent locked in the studio.

The reason for the lack of material is simple, a result of Lorn's acute perfectionism. "I guess up until this album, I didn't really have anything I wanted to put out", he explains. "It wasn't so much 'I'm just not going to put out music for seven years', it just wasn't time."

Fortunately, the result is well worth the wait, each sound, each rhythm, each texture contributing to forming the whole. Charged, dark and grandiose, the album is imbued with a brooding intensity. Coming from  "the middle of nowhere in the middle of Illinois", as he puts it in the press release, the album inevitably seems to be a product of his isolated and spacious environment.

"When you are out in the woods you just really kind of learn to disconnect. When I was finishing up the album, there weren't any dance clubs or music scenes or even other producers around. It is just kinda me."

More than this though, it is a product of his own character. An intense, brutal and melancholic insight into his mind, Nothing Else is an aural manifestation of Lorn himself, taking the listener on a journey through the twists and turns of his moods, thoughts and emotions. "I'm not necessarily out to make dark music per se. Whenever I sit down in the studio I'm just drawn towards those deeper sounds I think. It just feels right."

The album is much more complex however, than being bleak or depressing. The rawness and intensity have been channeled into something much more nuanced and affecting. Bleeding through the dystopian darkness are rays of melancholic beauty and flecks of uplifting hope that unfurl over repeated listening.  Tracks like Cherry Moon and Glass and Silver contain some of the most poignant and touching melodies you are likely to hear this year.

As part of the Brainfeeder stable, Lorn is often lumped in with the current beat scene but, as this album will show, such a tag is not really adequate to describe his music. Furthermore, his roots do not lie in hip hop.

"I didn't really like hip hop seven years ago", he explains. "I was listening to Aphex Twin and a lot of drum & bass... Ed Rush & Optical and Technical Itch, things of that nature, and a lot of metal, rock and classical music. Things outside of hip hop were what influenced me I think."

On listening to the album you can here these myriad influences refracted through his work. The brooding industrial core lays the foundations around which he builds his densely textured visions. Mesmeric melodic arrangements, sweeping crescendos and emotional intensity characterize the album as much as slouching beats and low-slung bass. It is this unique alignment of sounds and designs that make the album such an accomplished and enveloping achievement.

Equal parts disorientating and hypnotic, Nothing Else invites you to immerse yourself in Lorn's world and surrender yourself up to it as he did in making it.

After such a long process in getting the album out, you would forgive Lorn for taking a little time to sit back and enjoy its release, but he has no such plans. Tirelessly creative, he is keen to continue moving forward and growing.

"I have got a lot of remixes to do and mixes to do, but after this I will be starting work on my next album, cos I get kinda restless if I'm not working on something."

Words: Sam Collenette

 

 

• Lorn
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• Brainfeeder

Related Links:

• Lorn - Nothing Else Album Preview
• Samiyam Announces Sam Baker's Album
• Jammer - Jahmanji LP Details
• Martyn Reveals Ghost People Tracklisting
• Review: Brainfeeder at Fabric

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