Here’s a track I nearly forgot about. And for no good reason. Because Man Without Country’s 2012 single “Foe” is a stunningly good piece of synth-based wall of sound, kinda like shoegaze, but littered with electronics … maybe synth-gazer … I don’t know.
Whatever you call it, it reminds me a lot of early M83, circa “Before the Dawn Heals Us.” It’s got that MDMA spatial quality to the sound. Everything just opens up into one of those seemingly infinite aural landscapes, filled with layers and layers of cascading synths, and barely decipherable vocals that sound more like expressions of emotions than actual words.
Man Without Country is actually one musician, and he does have a country. He’s Welsh, and his name is Ryan A. James. Besides this act, he also remixes a number of artists (Interpol, School of Seven Bells, Chad Valley). And he’s collaborated with Norwegian electronic pioneers Röyksopp, contributing vocals for the single “Sordid Affair.”
Here’s Man Without Country’s “Foe.”
“Foe” from the 2012 album “Foe.”