Friday, April 20, 2012

Bitcrush - In Distance

I have always had a love for electronic/ambient and post-rock music. Sometimes so much, that I passionately search for artists that combine these two styles. If done right, there is so much depth and emotion behind each genre, so combing the two would be like a piece of heaven for me. Bitcrush provides this heaven, and he does it well.

After the San Francisco based electronic, post-industrial group Gridlock disbanded on March 24, 2005, member Mike Cadoo began working on his solo project Bitcrush. While Gridlock relied heavily on electronics, Bitcrush focuses more on the unique blend of electronics and live instruments such as guitars and drums. If there was an easy description for Bitcrush's music, I would say it is almost like a mix between Gridlock and post-rock acts like Explosions In The Sky, Caspian, and Sigur Ros. The ambient, beat-laden tracks are often infused with rich, post-rock-esque guitar sweeps, giving Bitcrush a sound that is hard to beat. Many times, the songs change styles completely throughout, making the music all-the-more interesting. The songs have a similar feel to the low, heavy, low, heavy progression of your traditional post-rock, but instead of layered guitar build-ups, there are textural ambient build-ups that lead into crushing guitar and drums, then back into softening ambiance.

Bitcrush's In Distance is a journey in-and-of itself. The music on this album demands the listeners full attention, and it's very hard not to pay attention, given the genius sounds presented. Mike Cadoo is a master at his craft and not only spends time making music as Bitcrush, but also makes music under the aliases Dryft and m.cadoo. He is also the owner and operator of the n5MD record company.


Check out the track 'And Triage' from Bitcrush's In Distance: