The Black Atlass EP
Self Released
The new year kicked off right on the music front with an answer to the lingering question of Black Atlass. In June of last year, we were mesmerized by the unfinished sound bites of 17-year-old producer/musician Alex Fleming. Currently working out of London, Ontario, Fleming dropped the The Black Atlass EP early this month, blowing the lid off the hypotheticals we put forward less than a year ago. The most startling aspect of this EP is Fleming’s voice – amplifying his phantasm electro with exasperated, yet sincere vocals no one would believe a 17-year-old musician was capable of producing.
“Castles” opens the 6-track EP with mounting waves of synths that growl against cascading piano keys and Fleming’s hushed voice. “Ways” follows as an all-encompassing sonic experience of simmering layered samples alongside heavy pulses of bass. “The Black Dog” encapsulates the endless possibilities in Fleming’s vocal range. He sounds as if he’s either on the verge of falling apart or blowing up in retaliation. The soft accompanying female verses accentuate the staggering command Fleming holds over his voice. And just when you think the track is trailing off, it changes gears with jazz inspired keys and cymbals that discharge the building tension and bring the piece to a close. “Hills”, the first Black Atlass track to appear in visual form, sees Fleming painted as a phantom character crooning behind grungy synths and concave drums. “Paris Interlude” is a beautifully unadorned piano solo that prefaces the atmospheric takeover of heady synth and drum clouds on closer “Paris.” This EP is above all a testament to Black Atlass’ transgressive artisitc nature and vision of contrasts.
A source pointed out that Fleming recorded the instrumentals for each track in real time using an MPD, meaning he’s incredibly attuned to each and every beat trickling out of his body of work. While Black Atlass continues to remain somewhat of a mystery, 2012 tastemakers will surely take a shine to his music.
Featured photograph by Thomas Pilgrim.
