I was awoken this morning by my increasingly annoying neighbor’s construction efforts to remodel her perfectly fine kitchen. To say I’m irritated would be severely understating the point. Given such circumstances, and the fact that the rainy season is hindering my abilities to seek refuge in the peaceful surrounding beach areas (unless I wish to be cold and wet, in addition to pissed off), I’m going to start the day with a dark techno trek that’s fast, aggressive, and most importantly, loud enough to offset the pain. And it’s kind of working.
The escape track I’m using comes from Slovenian DJ/composer Uroš Umek, who goes by his abbreviated all-caps stage name UMEK. It’s called “Double the Lust,” which I might add, is a wonderful title for this deliciously devilish brand of velocity-driven rhythm. I mean, this thing feels like a sexed-up, steam-powered, piston-pounding locomotive, hellbent on rolling full-on through anything in its path. If only it could go through walls and disable equipment of the remodeling variety. At least it can obstruct and distract at an aural level.
Funny that it’s only pegged at 126 BMP. “Double the Lust” sounds of a faster persuasion, seemingly bumping against the ceiling of some trance-induced tempos. Perhaps it’s the all-in attitude, infused with whirling provocation and limitless determination. If this one could run all day, and into the night, I think it most certainly would. And it’d make the day whisk by in a flash, which in my case is a much-needed distraction.
UMEK is synonymous with the subgenre of dark techno, a more sinister and severe version of straight-up techno and house. A lot of descriptors label it as bleak and dystopian. I find UMEK’s craft to be based more on intensity, pushing limits to peak levels just shy of shattering. He also wields a ferocity siphoned from industrial origins. His sound possesses that brand of metallic aggression, but it’s also not malicious or mean-spirited, as some of that genre tends to lean. I bet he’s got a mischievous smile as he puts pedal to metal.
In writing this, I think “Double the Lust” has done the trick. UMEK’s dark techno anthem has stripped away a good portion of my negativity and committed it to the electronic ether. I can’t say I’m cured of my annoyance for neighboring noise. But with tracks like this one, it almost doesn’t matter. At the appropriate volume, it’s just as effective as noise cancelling devices, and with any luck, might even upset the offending party.
Check out UMEK’s “Double the Lust” to kick start the day, and escape the rut. Or use it to blast through those thankless tasks that need doing. Either way, it’ll slingshot you through the shit and into the clear. Enjoy!
UMEK’s “Double the Lust (Original Mix)” from the 2016 single.
