January 13, 2021 | Lindsey Blakley
It’s January 13th, there’s a new moon in Capricorn, and if you haven’t heard yet, people are saying that the movie “I Am Legend” starring Will Smith was based in 2021 after a failed vaccine. Lol, be that as it may, Deafadil dropped his debut EP today, Wake Mecha, which leaves an apocalyptic taste in your mouth as well.
Think less vaccine-induced zombie vibes and more AI technology takes over the world.
I spoke with Zak Nordgren (Deafadil) about the EP because I wanted to know exactly what he was going for with the overall story. I think we can all agree that hearing what the artist sees in his own work is one of the coolest things, regardless of the art form.
Here is what Zak sees in Wake Mecha, “The story the EP tells is the emergence of the idea of sentient AI into the collective consciousness and culture. In parallel to the story, one specific cyborg unit awakens from hibernation to an empty world except for useless but operational automated manufacturing plants and their security, which he proceeds to dismantle.”
He called the entire process iterative in nature, stating that it was one he began in 2019 with the track “Skyline” and “Exit Mecha”.
After listening to the EP a few times and speaking with Zak, it’s clear to see that the EP is one that is better played in chronological order to achieve the full experience. Because that’s just it, as soon as you press play, you enter this virtual reality experience, and “Skyline” is very much the climax of that experience.
Listening to the title track all the way through “Exit Mecha” is like reading a good book cover-to-cover.
You can tell that Zak put a lot of time into ensuring each track continued the story in a way that was necessary to the overall mission. In other words, the man doesn’t beat around the bush. Each track is a straightforward, in your face, techy masterpiece. Each beat is an essential part of the over-arching atmosphere. It’s simply brilliant.
If you’re wondering how the magic is created, he’s a Logic user. He also flavored the EP with a few Behringer Neutron and Serum plug-ins, as well as the built-in Phat FX, which he says “has some nasty saturation and filters.”
“Hollow” is the second track on the EP and was released as a single on December 18th.
The track dropped on Presently Lifted and quickly received 1,000+ streams. And if you haven’t heard it yet, the intro is how I imagine the cyborg feeling when he starts to realize exactly what’s going on and how he’s going to dismantle it all. It’s heavy, techy but has inherent hip-hop vibes that make it hard not to lose your mind to.
Did I mention this is his debut EP?
Zak has big plans for himself, saying he wants to “subsist off of my visual and music work on either a subscription or freelance basis – and to play Perry’s Stage at Lollapalooza.”
That’s right. He has a visual art portfolio as well. There’s a high chance we will see Zak with his own events where everything is created by him.
For now, we can enjoy this massive download of an EP and look forward to collaborations with friends dropping in the near future. Deafadil also plans for a year full of experimenting with melodic music, so we can expect to see his name a lot in the coming months!
Stream Deafadil's Wake Mecha EP now on Soundcloud!
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