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Three cerebral industrial techno cuts by SubXtort have found a home on Chicago label Format Recordings. Accompanying the July 21st, 2020 release of ChromoSomatic is a music video for the EP’s title track designed by the multidisciplinary DJ and producer himself.
The “ChromoSomatic” video is rife with social commentary. Against the backdrop of the single’s distorted kicks and suspenseful atmospheres is footage from protests with glitch effects common to the SubXtort (real name Brian Douglas) brand. “HeavenMantra” hinges around a more diverse arrangement, and “PneumaticEffect” exhibits a deeper iteration of the artist’s sound.
ChromoSomatic is certainly not Douglas’ first foray into protest music. A veteran of Chicago’s rave scene since the ’90s, he’s acutely aware of techno’s potential as a tool of social commentary. His March single, “Tear Down The System,” released in the days leading up to COVID-19 being declared a pandemic, and months before Black Lives Matter protests erupted in countries across the globe.
On Thursday, July 24th, ChromoSomatic reached #21 on Beatport‘s “Techno (Peak Time / Driving / Hard) Top 100 Releases” chart. The placement is all the more impressive as the download store has yet to reintroduce their “Hard Techno” genre category, meaning that Douglas’ abrasive sound must compete with that of more commercial techno purveyors.
Purchase ChromoSomatic by SubXtort in full via Beatport.
