New electronic music as of the last decade often times pendulums between referencing its acclaimed past and its near bygone modern present. Tracks that either bathe in the glory of yore or represent its current hyper technological medium. Despite the fact that history exists not in the present but the recent past, electronic music and its various arms seem to decode this statement as nonexistent despite appealing to its own historical norms and forms.
An example of this past reflecting aesthetic lies in Swoose’s new track Bloom released ahead of their upcoming EP in October. What lies within a simple clean house beat are references, moods, and modes of the past so upfront there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind what you are experiencing. Swoose’s Bloom is as indicative of quite a lot of electronic music I’ve been seeing lately, a celebration and observation of what made it inherently popular. Read the album description on Bandcamp if you don’t believe me.
The trick is, all the various references throughout. Every drum hit or sample or vocal stab isn’t selected because it’s an honest reflection and recreation, it’s a scent memory reminder of such a specific indication of a time stamped item of existence so specific it brings you right back to the raves of 92. In the same way where films never get period accurate music and culture down just perfectly, music often is the opposite. It thrives on its own understanding especially within its hyper specific motives and actions. In the way an older cousin rips on a period piece from the ‘90s or ‘00s for their lack of the perfect song at the films climax, or it’s lack of wardrobe understanding or accurate actors for the various parts, music too must take into account this scrupulous watchful eye.
The swishy record scratches, the high pitch digital piano, the Lately bass, the Hallelujah sample. This is a song trying to communicate on CFCF and OPN levels of surface references to go one step deeper. This isn’t a tribute but a time warp from a specific mind reaching out. If you know, you simply know (however it’s not an issue if you don’t! It’s just part of its appeal.) Whereas plenty of electronic music tries to revel within its past, some simply toying with its elements, Bloom is period accurate to its core that it’s impossible to tell from whence it once came and that may or may not be a good thing.
IDM in the late 90’s and early 00’s often struggled with its own initial identity and development from a select few individuals who weren’t running from dance music, just mutating its forms which eventually developed into a mute and inert existence of dry and emotionless semi abstract headphone music. IDM eventually meant music to seriously not think about dancing to, forming into an amorphous existence akin to bad ambient or new age. When that came back around to anything plotted under the umbrella of IDM in the 00’s and 10’s, it’s more decidedly “modern” stylings were more trend based than ever within its own chin scratching and near smirking reference/reflection of the current and previous state of dance music. It evolved out of itself until it evolved back into it based on its own naval gazing.
Swoose isn’t doing that but avoiding it. This music is from the past, it's for the past. This kind of music, culture, and retrospection was best kept in amber, it’s why so many reflected on Heartbreak Hotel and Johnny B Goode and never improved on those forms for years. It wasn’t out of laziness, it’s because the art form was perfect on impact. Dance music of the early 90’s is often similar in this light, and Swoose is trying to simply hone in on something a little more specific to see that.
Some of it is surface level yes, and not as crate digging as a hyper obsessive fan might hope but an attempt at a danceable connection toward past memory emotion at times seems like a stronger motive than emotionless connection IDM and modern electronics has been taking. Maybe it’s necessary. However it’s not a knock at all based around progressive and modern growth, in fact I much prefer it (not a Luddite in any respect.) But when the old school is arriving at something more pure than what the new school has been avoiding for years, some might think to avoid attending the school at all.