J:Dead has been covered several times in the last year on Elektro Vox and for a good reason, Jay's music and voice is fantastic! So it is a real pleasure to have Teknovore now adding to the musical mix with another release.
Between 'Tearing me apart' and the two remixes by Ruined Conflict (YAY! Love their music) and Technolorgy.. This is something quite special indeed.
J:dead is the solo project from Jay Taylor, live drummer of EBM/Synthpop bands such as Tactical Sekt, Tyske Ludder and Harmjoy. For the last 16 years Jay has frequented many stages across the world performing in his own signature style of aggressive, hard hitting acoustic noise to the forefront of electronic acts. Now, with the creation of J:dead, there is an opportunity to show his ability in developing music which is at the core and drive behind his musical ambitions.
J:dead provides emotional and lyric driven tracks with a dark synthpop vibe, inspired by a range of artists and genres.
Teknovore was created by George Klontzas (formerly of Preemptive Strike 0.1 and Croona) in 2020 as a means of exploring a variety of dark electronic genres, the philosophy of Cosmic Indifferentism and the Metaphysics of Identity.
J:dead and Teknovore took the opportunity to work together on the track Tearing me apart to bring together their talents and create something slightly different to their normal styles yet finding their ability to create something new. Tearing me apart is a hard hitting dance floor track with punchy bass/synth lines, thumping beats and fast paced vocals.
Tearing me apart is digitally released on the 29th Oct 2021 under Infacted Recordings and includes remixes provided by Ruined Conflict and Technolorgy.
Review
'Tearing me apart' opens up with a soothing female vocal and soul massaging beats which then filters in some profound lyrics that many familiar with the darker side of night life or even just the darker side of mental health can relate to. It hit me with full force and brought back memories of previous struggles and pain; Yet somehow with the killer beat and uptempo rhythm, I found it quite empowering and invigorating like watching a fight scene where the failing hero/ine gets back up off the floor and starts to finally kick some ass!
"I need something to break, and I need something to take, All the pain that I know, could do with melting away, With a tab on its own, in a place I don't know, See the face of it all, be the end of control."
There are very few artists who can make synthpop and electronics sounds so damn catchy and memorable. (I once wrote that J:Dead reminds me of a modern Human League and this still very much rings true, only with much heavier energy!) The tempo is energetic and dance worthy with impressive growls thrown amongst the vocals. It's exceptionally hard to tell where Teknovore begins and J;Dead ends but either way these two artists have created a wonderful single here.
The Technolorgy remix pulls in deeper bass and a more electro keyboard sense of retro urgency like playing streets of rage on hard mode. It has sprinklings of early 2000's industrial that add a rich seasoning of flavour to this modern piece of industrial rock meets synthpop. I can imagine someone going nuts on a key-tuar to this.
Finally we have Ruined Conflict's mix which brings a bit more of an aggrotech edge to the track and that industrial stomp feel to the darker electronic dancefloors of Goth. I would LOVE to hear this remix blared out as loud as possible at Slimelight Elektrowerkz with the rhythms and beats reverberating through the walls and the souls of every dancer.
Conclusion
This is one of those singles that catches you instantly. I often dislike reviewing singles for lack of content to express upon, however these three different slices of the same single pie have left me wanting for so much more because it was delicious from start to finish! Each contributing artist has outdone themselves with a masterful single and I truly hope this one receives the recognition it deserves.
Scores
Technicality: 9/10
Soul factor: 9/10
Energy: 9/10
Vocals/Samples: 9/10
Re-play value: 10/10
Overall score: 9.2/10
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