Number 43 - Mystic Familiar by Dan Deacon

 Number 43: Mystic Familiar by Dan Deacon

An uplifting electronic soundscape

Release: January 31st, 2020
Genre: Neo Psychedelia
Favorite Tracks: Weeping Birch, Arp II: Float Away, Sat By a Tree

 

Where I heard it: 

Once I graduated high school in 2014, I had a wealth of time on my hands to waste throughout the day. My newfound habit of recreational drug use during this point certainly helped guide my choice in activities. One of my favorite things to do was dim the lights and watch trippy videos on YouTube, which led me to the Adult Swim late-night series Off the Air. These fifteen minute segments that would debut at random during the wee morning hours would compile clips that revolve around a certain theme, often portrayed in a psychedelic manner. I loved flipping through the various videos in my living room opium den, wasting away the hours with friends while we bugged out over certain sections. A common contributor to the sound design on Off the Air was DJ Dan Deacon, who once collaborated with the show makers to debut his album America. His symphonic compositions paired beautifully with the natural landscapes that accompanied the music. I was passively following his music when I stumbled upon the release of Mystic Familiar in early 2020. My interest in what Dan Deacon had to offer in the years since Off the Air led me to give the album a listen through, and I discovered one of my favorite electronica albums of all time. 

I look back
It had been a long night
Sitting by the fire
Soon it will be light
It may only last a moment
But a moment can last a lifetime in your mind
~ Sat By a Tree

What to expect:

When it comes to delving into the realm of the psychedelic, experementation breeds creativity in the genre. While Dan Deacon utilizes common audio tropes like voice distortion and track phasing, he meticulously places every phrase exactly where it needs to be. The bulk of Mystic Familiar is a slow burn that establishes a musical motif which reprises through the duration of a song, and sometimes over the course of many songs like the four Arp segments. The gradual progression of rhythms makes for a symphonic experience that wisely blends auxiliary instruments like piano on Become a Mountain and strings on Weeping Birch with an electronic backbone that modulates the tone with heavy synthesizer use. Each additional layer provides a new texture within the grand scheme of a song, building from a simple idea into a full head of steam by the tune's climax. Dan Deacon takes his time to deeply meditate over lengthy stretches of bars, riffing and improvising playful synth solos like in Arp II: Float Away that allow his imagination to run wild. These moments of impact are bursting with emotional depth, concluding the musical journey Mystic Familiar leads the listener on. Beginning with a rush of adrenaline that pumps up the BPMs, the frantic scuttle of notes still maintains control without flying completely off the rails. As we go deeper into Mystic Familiar, tracks like Fell Into the Ocean slip the listener away into a state of blissful lucidity that produces dreamy vibes. The album's pacing keeps focused on its destination, always moving forward in an uplifting manner that puts a smile on your face.

 There's a darkness in this place
The are fears I cannot face
But I'll hold onto you as long as I can
You make me feel free
I'm remembering now what your presence does
You make me forget what this world truly is
~ Arp I: Wide Eyed

Why it's my favorite: 

I often forget just how talented Dan Deacon really is when considering my favorite electronic artists. Perhaps his lack of popular notoriety leads him to slip my mind if the conversation arises. What I love about Dan Deacon is his ability to create masterpieces from a completely clean slate,  constructing breathtaking melodies from the ground up with delicate precision. I liken his work to modern composers like Phillip Glass that rely on repetition of phrases to create their pieces. Although Mystic Familiar contains electro-psychedelic gems like Sat By A Tree and Bumble Bee Crown King, songs like Weeping Birch carry the most weight to me for their minimalistic approach to songwriting that elicit the strongest emotions. The hectic collection of layers stimulate my brain with rare feelings of excitement and joy every listen. Admittedly, the majority of the music I consume is aggressive or melancholy, but it's refreshing to hear uplifting music like Mystic Familiar that inspires positivity. This is an album with the potential to open your mind up in ways only music can do.