Low Motor by Deri Dako

"Low Motor" explores sonic imperfections as inspired by a strange and unidentified virus he contracted while living in Malaysia in 2013.

The virus left Dako having feverish dreams, unable to walk, eat or think properly. It eventually subsided but returned a few months later when he was back in Europe, and again after that for a brief time. Doctors could never identify the virus, but it was such an intense experience that it has often weighed on the artist's mind so he decided to manifest those thoughts on this record.

He says, "The unidentified virus tested my mental and physical boundaries and got me thinking about scenarios which we can and cannot control. Despite our best intentions, some things just happen. There is a wide range of diseases that can instantly change our life trajectory. I wanted to understand those better, and that exploration resulted in this album."

As such, the album finds Dako exploring imperfections and questioning fixed concepts with his music. He digs into the secret mechanisms that regulate our desires and does so with sounds that demand to be more than just background listening. He draws upon everything from field recordings to analog synths, live instruments to digital tools to create his unpredictable sonics. Each song relates to a specific concept, from white matter to neuroplasticity, laboratory experiments to brain stem structures.

Musically, the album is about working towards raw, expressive, and less prescriptive outcomes, as is the case for artists who continue to create after brain injuries. The work becomes more abstract, symbolic, and vibrant while growing ever less rooted in the real world. That is the case from the off with the somber ambient electronics of "White Matter". "Ataxia" has ethereal synth modulations, slow and heavy drums, and the distant sound of voices then 'Borderline' pairs pulsing rhythms with synth dreamscapes in gorgeous fashion.

Elsewhere there is the cosmic spaciousness of "Ca++" featuring more heartbroken chords, and the brilliantly deep and lonely electronic world of "Plastos". The delicate fusions of ambient lushness and suspensory groove continue through the likes of the eerie and unsettling "Paradigm" and hopeful piano work of "Encoding". The brilliantly melancholic 'Neuroma' has heavenly chords glowing bright and absorbing closer "Medulla" ends on a pensive mood full of despair and dejection.

Low Motor's main album art was created by Rus Khasanov, while each track comes with its own piece generated by creative coding from Andreion De Castro. The result is a high concept, mysterious and seductive album that explores several intriguing psychological states.

Deri Dako - Low Motor
Release Date December 2021
Label Self Released (Deri Dako)

Tracklist
1. White Matter
2. Ataxia
3. Borderline
4. Hyper Reflex
5. Ca++
6. Agnosia
7. Plastos
8. 268 MPH
9. Paradigm
10. Mu Waves
11. Encoding
12. Chasing Chocolate
13. Neuroma
14. Medulla