Chicago-based composer Conor Mackey, aka Lynyn, announces his debut LP lexicon for July 15th via Sooper Records, the increasingly influential Chicago label owned by NNAMDÏ & Sen Morimoto.
Influenced heavily by the early 90s IDM movement, lexicon displays both a mastery of musical composition and a deep appreciation of the vocabulary and history of the electronic genre as it pulls together the sounds of jungle, drum and bass, footwork, hip-hop, ambient, glitch, IDM, dub, breakbeat, synth-pop, and so much more.
These influences work in tandem to produce a linear experience that can be spellbinding, euphoric, and sometimes dizzying, but without ever feeling aimless or suffering from structural discontinuities. The project comes paired with a visual dimension, the first of which is available today for first single “uja end”. Chicago-based architect and digital artist Owen Blodgett collaborated closely with Mackey to bring lexicon to life as a visual experience. The resulting landscape is highly representative of the novel sonic architectures of Lynyn’s music. A world that is equal parts erratic and steady, optimistic and dystopic, jagged and smooth, mechanistic and organic.
Mackey’s artistry is bolstered by a formal education in music. He received a bachelor’s degree in music theory and composition, alongside studies in bassoon performance and—notably—electronic and computer music. He is also a working symphonic composer who has scored for institutions including the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra and Brain.fm (where he is currently lead composer). In late 2021 Mackey first unveiled the Lynyn moniker as the executive producer of longtime collaborator and fellow Monobody member NNAMDÏ’s Are You Happy EP. NNAMDÏ says of Mackey:
“I think Conor’s gotten to the point where his creativity and skill are so actively exercised that ideas flow out of him at a speed that sometimes seems too effortless. People like to use the word ‘genius’ loosely, but I wouldn’t hesitate to say that Conor deserves that title whether he would agree or not.”
