[✉ booking request] | Territory: CH |
On Beyond, their sophomore full-length, Egopusher prove that they are Kubricklevel
masters of modelling the future (im)possible. In terms of the implied poetry
of paintings set in motion, the warm, saturated colors, the depth and detail of
the sonic image and the ease with which elements of classicism are combined
with retro-sci-fi aesthetics – this material brings to mind a 70 mm print of 2001:
A Space Odyssey. Not to mention, thematically these songs also address space
travel, its psycho-spiritual side-effects and the perpetual negotiation with the
arcane mediated via our technological advancements.
“When we started working on this record we told ourselves that anything
is possible and nothing is off-limits.” — Alessandro Giannelli
Beyond was produced by David Hofmann and recorded in what the band refers
to as “28 magical days”, between Engelberg, Switzerland and Berlin, Germany.
The songs were sketched out over a period of two years, in small gaps between the
band’s demanding tour schedule. Like with their previous material, they started
as improvisations, but this time the fellas only kept short sequences, which they
call “distillates” ie. magical moments, and used them to create new songs in the
studio, from ground up.
“It might sound weird, but it’s as if we grew from a duo to a proper band,
and finally found our signature sound. In the past our individual
instruments were more in focus, but now they are just there to serve the
song.” — Tobias Preisig
Stylistically, this music still falls under the group’s established brand of soundtrack
meets club, except that the clubby elements got rougher, darker and punchier,
while the classical-contemporary inflections more complex and eclectic.
Oddly enough, the result is a more cohesive and defined sound. The song structures
are full of unexpected turns and the arrangements multiplex – evoking
futuristic, alien architectural objects or the advanced visual technologies of psychedelics.
Let’s just say that Beyond just might be “the ultimate trip”* 2.0.
Egopusher are drummer/producer Alessandro Giannelli and violinist Tobias
Preisig. Their music is a visually loaded amalgam (think synaesthesia) of classic
and advanced electronica and contemporary-neo-classical. It’s the type of music
that begs for wide-screen movies to be shot to.