The second outing from Kasson Crooker’s ELYXR arrives…
Following on from ‘Engine’ the first single from ELYXR (which also received its premiere here on The Electricity Club back in May), a second release in the series in the form of ‘Godspeed’ has been unveiled.
Seattle-based electronic musician/producer Kasson Crooker conceived ELYXR as a collaborative project, introducing different singers for each subsequent release. ‘Engine’ marked the first such outing and featured Elissa LeCoque (Kodacrome) on vocal duties. ‘Engine’ offered up subtle, layered electronic pop elements that, combined with LeCoque’s soulful vocals, lent the whole composition a certain sadness.
For ‘Godspeed’, there’s a significant change of gear. There’s a raw energy at work on a busy composition that also seems to elicit a sense of unease. Despite this, there’s a kinetic quality to the electronic melodies threaded through the piece.
Conceived before Trump’s US victory, ‘Godspeed’ was penned as a reverie on the concerns such a presidency would bring. Lyrics such as “gather up your belongings/’cause he’s coming” pretty much seals the deal.
The vocals on this venture come courtesy of Naoko Takamoto, who’s also part of Princess Problems, the Boston-based rock and R&B outfit. Crooker’s musical relationship with Takamoto stretches back over 10 years when they were creating music for videogames (such as Dance Central and Amplitude).
Takamoto delivers a suitably emotional punch on this piece and it’s another cracking example that ELYXR is proving to be a valuable collaborative endeavour.
The next ELYXR single will be titled ‘Crystalline’ (debuting this coming Thursday on C89.5 Public Radio) and will feature Katrina Kope of the Seattle band Purr Gato.
‘Gospeed’ is out now on the Speed Of Dark label.
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