Band / Artist: Graffiti Mechanism
Year: 2009-2012
Genre: Acid, Acid House, Ambient, Dub Techno, Techno, Lo-fi, Chillout, Chiptune, Dark, Downtempo
My Review:
In 2011, my life had gone sideways on me. Some friends were helping to pull me out of a lull that had and has somewhat persisted since mid 2010, like a cloud over and through my life. During a part of that, I started to find my artist legs once again, and began to build back some of my joys and motivations. I was playing through a lot of music I had missed out on during a stint where I had been mentally vacant, and had saved a folder for a day when I needed to focus on something.
And that is how I found Graffiti Mechanism.
This guy is named Adam Crammond. He runs, or has a hand in running a netlabel called Proc-rec, I believe it started up in 2007. He has released so much work, that I still find new pieces of his.
Today will be special because I'm showcasing 4 of them, showing a progression I noticed.
Graffiti Mechanism - Blotter Beats
The first one I'll post as these are all in chronological order. This isn't just acid in the way it's often heard. He brings in a background in ambient and noise.
The drug references seem to be a sign of where he intends for you to go with his music, and that he wants to make you dance a little while you're there.
It seems to cycle back on itself, always gaining complexity as it reloops, and the sound seems to pick up more muddled layers while others fade inward below.
The use of Lo-fi sounds as a tool instead of an issue with equipment is
so interesting a choice to me, and it really works for him.
Graffiti Mechanism - The Fabric Of Existance
A step from acid in some ways, but keeping it going as the lifeblood of the tracks in many ways. This shows an evolution more from the kind of music made to dance the night away on drugs, to something showing a growth and a maturity. It is where I start to pick up on what I called Acid-daze, the sound that seems to be created for you to sit in a dark space and contemplate all layers of your life on hallucinogens.
Graffiti Mechanism - Fueled By Emotion
The first album I heard. This is the point where he really stepped into this meditative acid-daze sort of sound. I looked beck through everything of his I could find, and nothing else seems to capture this sound that he suddenly grasped with both hands and began knitting into a wonderful dreamscape.
I'd rate this one the highest of all of them if I were to be the type to rate albums. I can honestly say that something about this album helped me to find and heal some small part of my soul, although i cannot quantify that in any way. I can still listen to this on repeat for a whole day without even a trace of regret.
Graffiti Mechanism - Synesthesia
The shortest of the albums, an EP by any standard, even if the tracks are 7+ minutes each. This compounds on the top of the "Fueled By Emotion" set, adding a more clear and meditative approach to the sound he is exploring. If he continues down this path, I do wonder what he is going to incorporate into it next.
Either way, Hats off to Graffiti Mechanism.
