Adam Brown is like Jean Michelle Jarre or deep-disco Abba thrown in a meat compactor with a Bryan Ferry from an alternate timeline. It’s all at once frightening, surreal, and curious.
While Brown might be something you come across after hours of browsing Soundcloud on a Friday night, possibly while inebriated, he comes off as a decent enough guy whom you wouldn’t mind sharing such an evening with. This is his take on his debut single: ‘[“Disco Mossman”] is the most The Adam Brown song I’ve ever written. I was trying to develop other personas to sing through, having been sick to death of myself after working on the last record for over a decade… But this one slipped in. A song in my own voice, about my actual feelings… EXACTLY what I was trying to avoid! It’s got a “This Too Shall Pass” vibe to it… And…on a nerd level, the whole record was recorded about 16 cents higher than standard tuning, but this song, in particular, is in the supposed healing frequency of C 528… Figured, I might as well!” Well, we’re not so sure if we were healed or destroyed after listening to this, but, along with the DIY-style YouTube video he made for it, “Disco Mossman” is certainly out there.
The drums on “Mossman” do stand out and tickle our ears. One can only assume that Mr. Brown is playing/programming all the instruments heard on this record, and he does mention that the recording and mixing were a sole effort on his part, which is an admirable feat. While the arrangement of sounds and frequencies is mildly frenetic and can leave one feeling a little discombobulated, the drums seem to be anchoring this whirlwind of sonic texture pretty effectively.
Produced and Mixed with his Macbook at different residences and practice spaces around Adam’s hometown of Montreal, and mastered by Tim Debney (The Clash, Thom Yorke, Elvis Presley to name but a few) at Fluid Mastering, Hammersmith, London – this new tune is a dead-on, DIY punch-in-the-face. Come on, the guy recorded his whole record “about 16 cents higher than standard tuning” seemingly as a nod to audio nerds! We’re truly frightened by what this man has to offer the world of art, and that might be a refreshing thought in today’s world of squeaky-clean pop production.
