This editorial is dedicated to putting the spotlight on artists who create amazing music but always seem to fly under the radar for most dance music lovers. With so much great talent nowadays it's easy to miss out on the many musicians who may not appear on the mainstage but always deliver a headliner performance. This weeks Under The Radar features bass music innovator, Andreilien.
As a San Francisco native, Andrei Olenev, has been on forefront of the north western dub and bass explosion since the beginning. Originally known as Heyoka, Andrei has always displayed flexibility and immense production talents in his music, but as Andreilien, the extra terrestrial, psychedelic insanity has been perfected and pushed perhaps to its furthest point before forsaking all melodic value.
Ergot Curry is the first full length release for Andreilien and aside from the intro and outro tracks it's quite a ride the whole way. Funky glitch hop weirdness take place in “Fartknocker” (perhaps the greatest glitch hop title ever), “The Great Grabowski”, and “Saigon Stomp”, where the mesh of electro synths can be a bit overwhelming at times but thanks creative progressions, they manage to retain listenability and fully embrace the jazzy, blues, and eastern influences that are scattered throughout. The same goes for the drum and bass style tunes like “Fried With Benefits” and “Narc Matter”, that are also wickedly energizing (the mean bass in Narc Matter is super rockin!) and feature so many random fills and complextro inspired rhythms that the madness seem
s adequate after the first couple songs. Some sections are sharply reminiscent of IDM with the frantic drum patterns, almost like a grimey Aphex Twin, and the wobbling, gurgling leads make Andreilien seem like Tipper and Pretty Lights‘ more insane cousin.
It's no mystery why Andreilien's live sets are usually 100% original material because anything else would stand out. The bar is set quite high for electronic lunacy and its a real testament to the sheer technicality of the mixing and composing. Ergot Curry covers nearly every subgenre in ways that we don't see often, or at all. Andreilien has appeared at Lightning In A Bottle, Shambhala, Symbiosis, and is a Burning Man regular. With a constantly improving live show, including 3D lighting and visuals, this is definitely an artist worth checking out and a crazy album to subject your eardrums too.
Favorite Tracks
- Narc Matter
- Propaganjaganda
- Fartknocker
