We’ve been following patten very closely for over a decade now, and must confess our delight towards the outburst of releases that Damien Roach’s project had during the year the pandemic began. Starting with the beatless Glow back in mid 2020, there have been 7 new albums and EP’s to date, as well as two of his acclaimed RE-EDITS.
This year’s focus was on Mirage FM and Deep Blue, his first works made from text-to-audio AI samples. We went over Mirage FM to get captivated by its deep layers of ambiguous and magnetic detail, its ambitious – and successful – dig in the collective subconscious, its kaleidoscopic sonic landscapes constantly turning, and we took some notes of it. Track-by-track.
‘Inhale’ is liquid and morphing, its samples and vocal manipulations have melodic turns, and it triggers the subconscious with abrupt changes. ‘Say’ has an ostinatto-like structure of strings, breaks, intermittence, and thickness. Atmospheric ambiance on reverb that dissipates over everything nearing the end.
In ‘Forever’, Mirage FM’s rhythmical structures oscillate as if we’re falling through a comfortable ride of aleatory mood-changes, this time being fast paced and catchy, while ‘Alright’ is a soul-infused gem that takes some time to wake up, stretch, and spread its wings full of beautiful vocals. Like a digital chameleonic hummingbird, we only manage to see it standing for a fraction of a minute in all its melodic splendour until it glitches against the basement-techno-tunnel of ‘Drivetime’. Damien Roach knows how and when to add the right manipulations for full enjoyment.
‘Don’t Worry’ has the psychedelia kicking in, and no matter how abrupt the transitions might seem at first, Mirage FM brings a new landscape into focus, tuning any fuzziness out to something organic; breathing motifs in-and-out. This continues in ‘Forgot Me’, where everything is trippy and smooth, with a rhythm marked by soft clips and melodic turns.
In ‘Bliss’ we find our highest peak in this digital metamorphosis that the album depicts. Intense, ethereal and vaporous. And ‘The Door’ shows us that no matter how short these tracks are, they’re a masterclass in capturing a brief essence of many genres. ‘The Door’ melts and reshapes several times both in structure, tempo, tone, everything, and it keeps the narrative. Delightful.
‘Walk With U’ is a ghetto-transfixed-garage-rap. Straight to your limbic system, no stops. Once it gets there, it delivers a message. And ‘Fade’ has a melodic beauty that serves as a keyboard-interlude, still containing some energy that wants to break in through the track itself, to only show a brief glimpse of it.
‘Be There’, same as ‘Fade’, tries to find a direction in a tumultuous and forking passage of the album, as if this conceptual going-in-circles is necessary after so many sonic alterations. And ‘In Me’ is Damien Roach’s trademark skill in vocal manipulations. This time rising up, reminding us of patten’s own energy when performing live.
‘Where does the time go?’ Features our favourite loop and short delight of the album, it sticks with you after listening. And if ‘Blue Garden’ was a forest and not a garden, it would be too intricate to escape.
‘Lightspeed’ is a magic piece in Mirage FM’s puzzle. The relentless and evocative feel of it could work anywhere in the album and still generate a bliss of nostalgia until its decay.
In ‘Like Rain’ we feel that patten is indulging while exploring the possibilities of their glorious vocal and synth manipulations, taking us around some beautiful moments. And ‘Trust’ allows itself enough time to form, providing another high peak: top-notch bass melodies that move like water, wrapping up a funky pattenized microcosmos of alien sounds and processed samples of pure bliss.
‘Fly’ mixes different vibes all in one composition, with more than one vocal that sticks after listening. And ‘Green & Pink / One’ contain neon-illuminated breaks filled with tingly pads and a ritualistic loop that serves as a rhythmical and ceremonial ending.
