In our constant quest for experimentalism in underground music, we select the best varieties of various styles, moods and subgenres from around the world, and today we’re stoked to give you a very nice treat in the form of an interesting split release between Virginia based artists TRUE BODY and DIGITAL HELL. TRUE BODY’s half is their finest work yet, combining frenetic drumming and lush synths for a singular take on 80’s goth pop, while the DIGITAL HELL side is best described as experimental dark wave trap – it feels like it could soundtrack a glitch in the matrix. It is our pleasure to give you this experimental pairing below, along with True Body’s special lists of top records that influenced this split, and a gloomy ending by Digital Hell.
The split is out now on Funeral Party Records, the Kentucky based label responsible for releases from Fearing, Soft Kill, an early record from NOTHING, and more.
True Body is a musical outfit, touching down into the present sometime in 2015. Through relentless live performance and multiple cross-media, self-published releases (along with their latest LP published and released by Funeral Party Records) their signal has grazed even the outermost regions of the networked underground. Taking as much influence from hardcore as they do modern digital music, they balance pop sensibilities with lust for experimentation. Energy is their primary concern and the spirit of their shows are proof, often playing out as crowd involved, ecstatic and Dionysian affairs. They hold this aspect of catharsis dear, as it has been their saving grace allegorically and literally over the years. “There’s a need for the sweat and primal energy of performance” (Maximum RnR 2016) “when the pressure becomes too great a burden, you’re able to carry these memories with you. Songs are dreams you can store your hope in. They’re lovers who gaze in steadfast compassion, waiting for you to whisper your secrets into their world. They are currently working on their 3rd LP and preparations for future live appearances.
Digital Hell are a musical collective that spans multiple genres and styles from Richmond Virginia, which began as a collaborative effort between Chay (lil ophelia) and itslolita in early 2018. Their music has been described as “dark web trap” “noise rap” “music to bury bodies to” and “music for the end times”. Combining archaic music production technology with contemporary stylings, Digital Hell provides the listener with a diverse and exciting musical analysis of capitalist realism and left accelerationism to help lay their claim to a future formerly cancelled.
Check out both artists’ top influences behind the split below:
True Body
Isabel:
A hypnotic dance track that latched itself onto my rig as this split began to come together. I could not stop dreaming through the gorgeous textures nor dancing through the dark basslines. Infectious and disciplined, this is one of a handful of works that assisted in sustaining an atmosphere of kinetic creative energy while we worked through our own imaginal worlds. For those who know.
Nathan:
I spent a lot of time in empty hospitals and church buildings this past year.
Kevin:
I remember falling in love with this track during the writing process. At the time I was struggling to create parts that I felt complimented these songs, but страсть really helped me rethink my approach
Hector:
We all share a deep love and bond over this record, it has a special place in our hearts. The rhythm guitar and layered drone sound like liquid while still being fairly distorted and gritty. The song feels like melting chrome, and that tactile quality was more of an influence than any specific musical element that it is made up of.
Digital Hell
We don’t have the freedom to be bored anymore. To be bored is to be haunted by the 20th century, To be bored is to accelerate your emotions by indulging in our late capitalist hellscape. An incessant dolor, life is a Philip K Dick novel. Gluttony, drug abuse, malaise. Welcome to the 21st century.
