Despite my regularly scheduled program of heavy bass and headbanging electronic mayhem, one of my long-standing favorite genres is post-rock. I’ve been entranced by melodic and beautiful instrumentation ever since I was introduced to the likes of Explosions In The Sky, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and Ratatat. It’s even more intriguing when someone can come along and connect the world of heavy, affective instrumentation, with the sound design and resonance of electronic production. Enter: Death & Rebirth, an electronic post-rock duo from Portland, Oregon who just released their Debut EP, Taijitu.
The duo formed just shy of a year ago when music projects Slowing Inertia (Adam Kuatt) and Arkana (Sam Finn) had each reached a point where they felt their music wasn’t reaching its true potential. The two friends joined forces, moved deep into the Oregonian woods, and got to work producing this project with “every ounce of their soul.” What came out of the time spent was a beautiful collection of tracks that touches on the best of ambient music, while maintaining a cinematic and electronica approach. The EP itself seems to take on two lives: the first half, guitar-heavy and post-rock driven; the second half taking on a more atmospheric and electronic approach ― perfectly encapsulating the duality of the members themselves, as well as lending itself to the name Death & Rebirth as a whole.
Opening with crescendoing tones from a distorted guitar, “Lotus Eater” begins the EP on an instantly dark and mesmerizing path. As soon as the near deafening buzz of distortion drops away, a melodic and and heavily reverbed guitar lead pierces through the atmospheric composition. The drums don’t make their entrance until nearly two minutes into the seven-minute journey, but when they do, they make an assertion to be noticed ― and noticed they are. With the thunderous conviction of a heavy metal backbeat, the rhythm forces more energy out of the already relentless barrage of sound. The track itself stands well with the myth it draws upon for its name, keeping you coming back for more with every listen.
Where “Lotus Eater” excelled at demonstrating Death & Rebirth’s intense side, “Hanami” is where things begin to show emotion, and elicit an affective response from the listener. A much more melodic and twinkly concoction breaks forth with a cleaner tone and more decisive orchestration. Where “Lotus Eater” gave lessons in impulse and intensity, “Hanami” feels slightly more restrained and purposeful while still teasing the forcefulness from the previous track. One of the more intriguing and nuanced characteristics within “Hanami” is the layered and skittering drums that touch lightly in the background of the track. These little details create a level of depth that have come to be some some of my favorite aspects of this EP.
Behind this pair of post-rock driven compositions is “Zen (Interlude)” and the EP’s titular track “Taijitu.” Where the opening stanza of this EP focused on the heavy end of the spectrum, the second half is where sound design and production comes to shine. “Zen” displays a perfect pairing of drumwork and sonic atmosphere to retain the thematic influences of the EP’s opening, while toning down the overall emotion and introspection; putting Death & Rebirth’s full spectrum of expertise on display. Creating a showcase that transfers over perfectly to the ambient and ethereal “Taijitu.”
Behind this pair of post-rock driven compositions is “Zen (Interlude)” and the EP’s titular track “Taijitu.” Where the opening stanza of this EP focused on the heavy end of the spectrum, the second half is where sound design and production come to shine. “Zen” displays a perfect pairing of drumwork and sonic atmosphere to retain the thematic influences of the EP’s opening, while toning down the overall emotion and introspection; putting Death & Rebirth’s full spectrum of expertise on display. Creating a showcase that transfers over perfectly to the ambient and ethereal “Taijitu.”
When I spoke to Sam Finn about Death & Rebirth, he told me that recording the EP was an interesting and complex situation as both him and Adam Kuatt have “very contrasting personalities and opinions about life.” It was this duality that also lead to their name, the opposing colored masks, and the title “Taijitu” for their EP: the symbol many of us know as Yin & Yang.
This concept, this theme of conflicting ideas and dualities in sound, was executed perfectly in Taijitu, and truly demonstrated the overarching spectrum of sound that Death & Rebirth has mastered. They have successfully bridged the gap between post-rock and electronic, and I’m truly excited to see where these guys push the genres moving forward.
▼Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/deathandrebirth
▼Twitter: https://twitter.com/RebirthDeath
▼Spotify: http://sptfy.com/2BIA
