BlackGummy – Singularity EP
Since his debut on mau5trap with “Lullaby” on the We Are Your Friends Vol. 4 compilation, Black Gummy has proven himself as a major force to be reckoned with. The LA native received, what many consider, the gold standard of production education – studying sound design under the renowned Steve Duda, and honing his strong technical abilities at Southern California’s Icon Production School, home of alumni like JAUZ, NGHTMRE, SNBRN, and more. BlackGummy has just released his debut EP, Singularity, which was inspired by the idea of technological singularity, or the belief that artificial intelligence will, one day, surpass human intelligence.
While the idea of singularity may seem out of place on the record, it clearly stands front and center on the dark, gritty, industrial production on the EP. The lead track, “The Machine,” opens with a vocal sample declaring the path towards singularity before breaking down into glitchy synth stabs and crisp basslines. Other tracks like “Plucking Technology” and “Alarm” showcase BlackGummy’s vast production ability. Get the EP here.
Icon Collective’s Influence on a Generation of Producers
BlackGummy’s training at what would become known as Icon Collective placed him within a lineage of technically rigorous, sound-design-focused producers who emerged from that same production school around the mid-2010s. That shared educational background helps explain why so many Icon alumni, from JAUZ to NGHTMRE, developed reputations for meticulous, detail-oriented production even while working in wildly different genres, since the school’s curriculum emphasized fundamental sound design skills that could be applied across dubstep, trap, house, or the darker industrial textures BlackGummy explored on “Singularity.”
Mau5trap’s Role in Shaping Darker Electronic Sounds
Being discovered through mau5trap, deadmau5’s own label, meant BlackGummy entered the scene under an imprint known for championing more experimental, less festival-friendly electronic music than much of what dominated mainstream EDM at the time. That context matters for understanding “Singularity” specifically, since a concept EP built around an abstract, technology-driven theme and industrial sound design fit naturally with mau5trap’s broader reputation for platforming artists willing to take creative risks rather than chase the most immediately commercial sound.
Technological Singularity as a Conceptual Framework
Building an entire EP around the idea of technological singularity gave BlackGummy’s project a conceptual coherence that many dance music EPs, often assembled as loose collections of unrelated singles, tend to lack. Framing the record’s darker, industrial production choices around a specific philosophical idea, the notion that artificial intelligence could one day surpass human cognition, allowed each track to function as part of a larger narrative arc rather than a standalone statement, a more ambitious structural choice than most producers attempted with a debut release at this stage of their career.
