<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>- Emerging in the early 2000s, Dan Deacon soon gained a reputation for his recorded and live work, blending sound collages with offbeat synthesised pop. Never afraid to explore the more experimental side of electronic music, you’ll find dabblings in noise, sine waves and recollections of his education in electroacoustic composition. </span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>It all sounds rather academic, but Deacon has always used these diverse sonic signposts to create music that is, first and foremost, engaging. This is nowhere-more-evident than in his latest album <em>Mystic Familiar</em>. For example, the first three tracks are completely different from each other, but still set a powerful scene for the listener. Opening track <em>Become A Mountain</em> is a mini-symphony with its elegant clouds of piano, while the brief instrumental <em>Hypnagogic</em> sounds like the vintage synths of ‘70's educational films. Most representative of the album’s rather psychedelic and retro-futurist flavour is first single <em>Sat By A Tree</em>; an almost go-to summary for the whole record. Next up is a four-part suite <em>Arp I</em> to <em>IV</em>, presumably named after the arpeggiator feature on various synthesisers which provide the listener with sequences of notes at a variety of tempos. These tracks are a perfect marriage of pop with experimentation as the squelching electronics combine with propulsive rhythms and queasy yet blissed-out vocals, resembling anthemic psychedelia on the gorgeous <em>Arp II: Float Away</em> and a kind of robotic prog rock on <em>Arp III: Far From Shore</em>. </span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span><span><span><em>Become A Mountain’s</em> neo-classical elements are revisited on <em>Weeping Birch</em>, though this time with a slightly more fluttery, expressionistic approach, abandoning vocals and letting the soundscape dominate. There’s more hi-tech psych in <em>Fell Into The Ocean</em>, with a catchy chorus and an eerie use of varispeeded vocals. Arpeggiated notes are apparently a recurring theme on this album, as they are back in vintage 8-bit form on the dramatic build-up of <em>My Friend</em>. Deacon saves the longest for last, closing the album with the seven-and-a-half minute <em>Bumble Bee Crown King</em>, a blend of organ drone, busy beats and Asian-influenced flurries of melody.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>It’s an example of a performer transcending his academic background – he uses what he learned, don’t get me wrong, but is able to translate these techniques into music that is colourful and fun. We’ve only reached the end of January and 2020 has already given us a great album. Keep ‘em coming. </span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>- Matt Thrower.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3516339342/size=large/bgcol=f…; seamless><a href="http://dandeacon.bandcamp.com/album/mystic-familiar">Mystic Familiar by Dan Deacon</a></iframe><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5YsvMbX-F7k" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>