Kangding Ray - Hyper Opal Mantis

[cear]

SACD008 • FEBRUARY 24 2017

 

 

01. Rubi 9:38

02. Lone Pyramids 4:21

03. Epsilon 5:34

04. Purple Phase 4:20

05. Dune 6:31

06. Soul Surfing 5:48

07. Outremer 5:22

08. Onde Mantis 8:06

09. Saudade 3:37

10. Laniakea 9:44

 

The tension between the natural and artificial, the body and mind, are central themes in electronic music in general, and Techno in particular, as the means of creation, focused around technology and interactions with machines, contrast with the emotional response to sound, the mystical ritual of collective dancing, and the ethos of liberation and tolerance embedded in the culture it produced.

 

We’re navigating a world of engineered pleasures, big data monitoring of movements and consumption habits, and falsely objective representations of reality, further blurred by a reduced attention span and several opaque layers of cultural interpretation and political manipulation.

 

Manichean simplifications are used to create hate and fear in order to achieve domination and impose limits on freedom, and the irrational belief in endless growth, increasingly disconnected from nature, led to massive environmental destructions and waves of unprecedented extinctions of species.

 

Our primal sensuous perception, vastly more abstract, emotional and sensual, make us feel the world as an ambiguous realm we are part of, but not in control of ; a complex network of interacting forces and enigmatic patterns, a matrix of overlapping desires. Rebuilding our bonds with nature, Reconnecting with our senses, and spreading love in the process becomes an essential act of resistance.

 

Hyper Opal Mantis is a triptych on 3 states of desire, and the first long player of Kangding Ray for Stroboscopic Artefacts.

HYPER is the primal, sensual lust, OPAL is the emotional catharsis, a blissful desire for love. MANTIS, like the insect it refers to, is the destructive, fatal attraction.

Stroboscopic Artefacts @StroboscopicArt DISCOGS

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Lada Laika]

Shit yeah. That lead single is gnarly good. Loved Cory Arcane, looks like this is gonna be a good follow-up.

[usagi]

guy's unstoppable.

[xyrofen]

Looking forward to this. All of his other releases are solid; I could always use more stuff that sounds like trains.

[Haste]

I agree with the dancing lady.

[azatoth]

This is pretty good.

[WeAreOceans]

oh dang how did this fly under my radar

 

loved Cory Arcane, preview track sounds just as lush :)

[Lewps]

Love me some Kangding Ray. Sad I didn't get to his show last time I was in Syd caus I broke my thumb at another concert the night before, hope he comes back with some new material.

[Soloman Tump]

Liking the sound of this.

On my hit list fo sho

[Richie Sombrero]

Always has the most pretentious press releases :)

[xyrofen]

Album sampler

https://soundcloud.com/stroboscopicartefacts/kangding-ray-hyper-opal-mantis-salp005sacd008

[Extralife]

Never listened to Kangding Ray before this, but this is....nice! Where to next?

[Soloman Tump]

Album sampler

https://soundcloud.com/stroboscopicartefacts/kangding-ray-hyper-opal-mantis-salp005sacd008

This does sound quite dark. But also a bit samey.

[Lada Laika]

FUKKEN SHIT

 

[bendish]

Always has the most pretentious press releases :)

 

Yea but that way you get to do some installations or s/t an art exhibit

 

Guess it beats 'I sat down and made some tunes and this is what came out'

[dingformung]

!!!

[Richie Sombrero]

 

Always has the most pretentious press releases :)

 

Yea but that way you get to do some installations or s/t an art exhibit

 

Guess it beats 'I sat down and made some tunes and this is what came out'

 

 

I disagree. State of this shit. It's a good album, though.

 

 

cory arcane found her comfort zone in a constant state of crisis, and her liberation through love, sensuality, and high-speed internet access.

as some might recall, she used to struggle with her own decay, navigating an intricate web of bureaucracy, endless social-media scrolling, 24-hour news channel feeds and marketed strategies of seduction.

her intense and continuous obsession for surf, breakdancing and cat videos might have saved her from a silent decline, but it would be her first attempts at integrating a professional ballet company that provided the initial spark. her unorthodox dance movements were often considered shocking, transgressive, and barely legal; and even though some recognised her genuine talent, it was clear she would never make it into this structure. this is when she started her slow drift towards the outer limits of society, in search of the way to achieve the conditions for absolute freedom.

her emancipation was surely marked by different forms of excess: the inappropriate use of fireworks, the consumption of large quantities of alcohol and controlled substances, as well as the occasional blasts of kitchen appliances.

she bypassed the gender war and became an expert in advertising sabotage. soon cory would give academic courses on the true liberation of the mind, or, in her own words, the apotheosis of senses.

lately, she could be seen squatting in the outskirts of different giant metropolises, embracing the mayhem, contemplating the crumbling of a system. the sound of the city, mixed with the music on her headphones, would weave complex rhythms and futuristic textures into a beautifully coloured, pixellated surface.

looking out onto this fabulous chaos, she smiled

 

[bendish]

I'm kidding man it's pretentious wank. Tunes r moody but I ain't feeling that much. Nice glacial tones though.

[flim]

!!!

[Lada Laika]

Just got a ticket to see him on March 16. Cannot frigging wait! $15 after fees, unbelievable

[Kavinsky]

 

Always has the most pretentious press releases :)

 

Yea but that way you get to do some installations or s/t an art exhibit

 

Guess it beats 'I sat down and made some tunes and this is what came out'

 

lol

[Lada Laika]

Dude just blew the lid off Kremwerk. Technical hiccup led to a set interruption for about 20 minutes (modular synths amirite) but overall the set was fucking insane. Not counting the sound difficulties, a 2 hour set that was nonstop greatness. 

[Rotwang]

Bought this this evening after hearing it playing in a record store and asking the guy behind the counter what it was. It's bloody great.