emmyewesseyesee:

godmode – the faculty series

i’ve been waiting to write about this fine (and still evolving) collection of music from the arrival of yaeji’s woozily addictive “new york 93” (faculty series #09, and previously reviewed here) right up until the next perfect square arrived courtesy of terminal scout’s “warm-up song” (faculty series #16), just so i could visually depict a perfect square of beguiling vintage photography covers alongside an image of godmode head and faculty instigator, nick sylvester.

and while “the artist-brand” may indeed be deemed a “creative albatross” in the faculty series mantra, sylverster and godmode should be very much applauded for both their approach and their exquisite curation as key architects and organisers of this wonderfully fresh and growing collection of music.

their hypothesis runs thusly: “by abandoning the artist as organizing principle and embracing purpose, we shall make only the most necessary expressions”. off the back of this, a new (no asshole) ad hoc two-or-three-day collaboration has arrived on an almost weekly basis since the start of the year, and now totals sixteen* impeccable nu-disco tunes which embrace a range of healthy experimentation, addictive grooves, stimulating beats, arresting basslines and often unexpected vocals.

clearly there are artists and collectives that exist behind these tunes, but where the faculty series is so successful is in presenting a far more even-handed and shared hierarchy of interest across their impressive roster. this connected mutual benefit of ‘team’ is ultimately the hero of the faculty series – an answer to the implicit “if you like this, you’ll probably like this” ideal that every single music-streaming service is oh so desperate to achieve – only here it’s handled by people, minds and feelings rather than interminably unsentimental and unsympathetic machines with their associated algorithms. the difference between creating songs around a theme, ethos, purpose or collective mindset and trying to subsequently impose a supposed theme or connection onto existing tunes is palpable, and the faculty series feels suitably imaginative, cared for and serendipitous rather than crassly engineered or lazily assumed. it’s far more inspiring and rewarding as a result.

design-wise, the use of unidentified monochrome vintage photography rather than band-as-brand “smile for the photo” art-shots is refreshing too, and serves to present the series as a reassuring and respectable whole, reveling more in the music itself over the artistic image. this makes a lot of sense and moreover adds to the series’ striking and beguiling qualities courtesy of the untold, likely unknown back-stories of the anonymous individuals portrayed. who are they? where are they from? who are they dating? what’s their opinion on global warming? and most importantly of all, should any of this even matter if they can get you up and dancing?

with all this in mind, it feels slightly unfair to single out particular tunes from the series, but i’ve got to share a couple, if just by way of a courteous invitation to try before you buy. after all, it was yaeji’s “new york 93” that originally got me hooked, so it’s only fair that i return the favour with a couple of choice cuts. but it’s just so hard to choose which ones. ok, here’s a quick four-play for y’all brought to you by the numbers #07, #08, #11 and #12 (shraf’s supremely soulful “with every heartbeat” [fitness remix], soft lit’s nu-diva-esque “u up”, fitness [feat. monica]’s disco-funked-up “like the devil”, and deflector’s clatteringly-pumped-up “compliance”) but there’s so much more good stuff in there besides and no doubt far more yet to come.

all in all, it’s just a fabulous collection of absolute belters from top to tail, and to be honest, i’d thoroughly encourage you to embrace the collective spirit, dive headlong in, and enjoy the lot.

* and as if it wasn’t hard enough waiting patiently to create my perfect square, they’ve now gone and released faculty series #17, clearly just to spite this reviewer’s aesthetic quest. and no surprises, it’s yet another utter belter, courtesy of motion studies’ lcd soundsystem-esque “instant city”. darn it, i’m gonna have to go review that separately now, ain’t i, cos i ain’t waiting another two months ‘til we get to #25. there’s just no keepin’ up with these guys, thank the lord god(mode)!