Aussie drum & bass act ShockOne has released his ‘A Dark Machine’ LP in collaboration with Warner Australia and Monstercat.
After releasing his production together with The Bloody Beetroots last month, the full album is here and it’s brings a lot of gritty and electronic goodness. With 13 tracks, 4 being released prior, this is a full fledged story – with many tracks working their way into the next.
‘A Dark Machine’ is an immersive experience that delves into the complex human psyche while running the gamut of bass music genres with an experimental flair. The album features guest collaborations with ShockOne’s real-life sister, vocalist Reija Lee, as well as Cecil, Cruz Patterson, The Bloody Beetroots and producers Ekko and Sidetrack, who each contribute their unique sound to the whole.
Karl Thomas, aka ShockOne explained his inspiration;
“‘A Dark Machine‘ begins with ‘Run‘ and the intro connected to it ‘Awake.’ The whole thing started from the idea I had of the protagonist waking from a dream while finding themselves running, from what exactly, they don’t know, but they are filled with a sense of dread, they do know, however, that if they stop running something terrible will happen. I just had this image of someone waking up running from something, and at the beginning, I wasn’t quite sure what that was myself. As I kept writing and scribbling random phrases and notes down, it started to become clear that what the protagonist is running from is a reflection of their own psyche, their subconscious, perhaps even the darker side of it, and that is essentially what ‘A Dark Machine‘ represents. As I continued the writing process, I started to realize this album is basically the story of someone coming to terms with their own mind/subconscious, the good and the bad parts of it. The closing song ‘Silver & Gold,’ is the final conversation between the protagonist and their own subconscious. The eternal conversion we are all having with ourselves that can sometimes get pretty dark. This story is like a dramatization of that, and this album is like a soundtrack to the dystopian art film I have in my head that will never get made! Although the fantastic videos Matsu made for ‘A Dark Machine,’ ‘Bleed Black‘ & ‘Run‘ are pretty damn close!”
