French artist Trudge returns to Lobster Theremin with his debut LP No More Motivation arriving on March 18th with a genre-bending and original masterstroke; charged as it is cerebral. The album’s concept points to the artist’s tumultuous relationship with music; plagued by life events and the looming shadow of tragedy. That same relationship however, has led to an album of nuance, a cathartic whirlwind that pushes and pulls from one part of the psyche to the next.
From the laden house sounds found in his earlier work, to the hard-hitting emotive techno we hear today, both Trudges’ personal and artistic evolution runs parallel, drawing between the lines of introspection and dance music’s modern functionality.
Bangkok Radio kicks off proceedings with a reminiscent drive through the city’s bustling landscape, as space unfolds the further we travel from the hustle and bustle of daily life. No Motivation, meaningless is a nod to the producer’s headspace – burdened by the unpredictability of reality and it’s governing influence on art; echoing throughout the entire album.
Mazzomba explores the duality of light and dark; heavily submerged sounds can be heard melting below the surface, as airy synths create an ethereal glow – acting as our torch through the crud-infested trench. The album’s interlude ‘Berserk’ provides a rest bite, an ambient dreamscape laced with deeply layered textures – casting warm fluorescent light amongst the clouds as balance is restored.
Tracks Dead Orange and Gradient demonstrate the artist’s knack for intelligent sound-design and world-building soundscapes, while Unghosted and Punishments sees Trudge venture into raw and unwavering compositions created for the dance-floor.
Closing the album is Blue Ritual, a thought-provoking piece that has the ability to transport and heal. It’s introspective layers point to the changing winds to come – rounding off an album not binded by genre, but an eclecticism that characterises an artist true to his craft.
