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DisasterPEACE - Deorbit

Disasterpeace - Deorbit

I happened to notice a few weeks ago that the highly respected and inimitable Rich Vreeland, better known to most of us as DisasterPEACE, is now offering his entire catalogue up to the world with a “pay what you want” model, which basically means FREE, but you should really give this guy money because he’s good and good indie artists should be rewarded for what they do and I promise I’ll stop preaching now.

Anyway, I also noticed he’s released a new EP titled Deorbit, so I downloaded the shit out of it and made it an immediate part of my worktime rotation.  My initial impression was that much of it resembles this year’s earlier release, Rise of the Obsidian Interstellar, which felt to me like pieces of Vangelis and Mike Oldfield being dragged forward in time from the early 70s, accruing influence as they go like some kind of musical Katamari.  8 and 16 bit chip, prog rock of varying eras, a hefty dose of that minimalism-inspired electronica, all drawn together in ways that are universally modern.  It occurs to me that looking forward while looking back is perhaps the key to relevancy, and Disasterpeace excels in this here.  Perhaps the most stunning part of this EP is the fact that it seems it is comprised primarily of tracks that he couldn’t find a place for on other efforts.  This man’s deletions are better than most artists’ intentions.  Frankly sickening.

The album starts with a melancholic bit of mystique and atmosphere, a desolate melody awash in echo and faint noise, accompanied briefly by a sparse beat.  This introduction gives way to the stunning “Polis,” which exemplifies the Katamari description given above.  Bouncing minimal synths juxtapose a slick 11/8 groove with fat bottomed bass to make the rockin’ world go round and positively gorgeous leads, the whole thing culminating in guitar lines that neatly slice open my skull, remove my brain, give it a good spitshine, and put it back in place upside down.

The other biggest highlight for me is “Sober Colony,” which I was until now unaware was already released way back in 2007 on a themed Pause compilation called Town.  Folks… I’m not exaggerating to say that my discovery of this song was an existence-defining moment.  I can no longer imagine life without it.  It’s that fucking good.  The 5/4 groove is so irresistibly supreme as to lend credence to the idea of 5 as a magic number.  And then the song’s B section (e.g. starting at about the 1:04 mark) descends on me like an avalanche; inconceivably heavy, with all of the immense power and beauty of a natural formation, and capable of besetting my spine with uncontrollable chills.

Allow me to further put this into perspective and say that this is not coming from a longtime Disasterpeace fanboy.  Prior to this year, I’d only heard parts of a few albums, and while I found them enjoyable and I respected the artist for what he means to the scene, I wasn’t extremely into the music.  With these two latest releases, that stance has shifted considerably, and I’ll now be delving much more deeply into the entirety of the man’s catalogue.  I encourage anyone else with ears to do the same.

Disasterpeace on the web

Tags: 2011, california, chiptune, deorbit, disasterpeace, free music, future, ii, oakland, pause, progressive, rich vreeland

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