025 - w u s o 命 - Hold it Together

 

 

 “Hold It Together is literally the message of the album. That despite everything that is going on in your life, whether you’re haunted by memories of a bygone time or you’re struggling with current events, you have to hold it together and keep yourself collected, because it is guaranteed that there are probably millions going through the exact same things that you are, and you can find solidarity in that.” - w u s o 命 April 2021


A year ago - April 2020 - I got a package in the mail, having just discovered a label by the name of Dream Catalogue.  I got six records that I had been told were vaporwave.  These weren’t like other vaporwave albums that I’d heard though, these were quite different.  As I was listening to  チェスマスター’s I am Chesumasta,  2 8 1 4’s 新しい日の誕生 and Remember’s The City is My Friend, I found myself enthralled by the visual art styles and how they perfectly matched the music on those records.
 
Each one of those releases came with a specific tag: dreampunk.  It was the only common thread between all of them and I was set upon a quest to discover its meaning.  After some searching I happened upon a video on Youtube titled “Dreampunk: Soundtrack to Dreams.”   Fifteen minutes later I knew two things: those records I got were not vaporwave at all, and I had to explore the music of w u s o 命.

I found w u s o 命’s music to be engaging, dynamic, and visual.  He had a distinct style that captured my imagination and held my attention.  To this point, I had really only experienced the ambient side of dreampunk.  I was enthralled by his more active approach to the genre. Ultimately, one album stood out from the others as one of the finest examples of dreampunk: Hold it Together.

For a genre as continuously evolving and changing as dreampunk, Hold it Together sounds as fresh and as innovative today - four years after its release - as when it first came out.  It does so by combining the ambient stylings of the earlier entries of the genre with a purposeful cinematic character that engages  the listener.

This involvement extends far beyond the music.  The cover itself represents a deep connection to all that is contained within.  The deep blue channels the cold and inhuman feeling that permeates the album.  The cityscape radiates the fact that this is a decidedly urban album.  A small splash of red indicates fleeting glimpses of warmth on tracks such as Subtle Optimism or Ride Home.  

Hold it Together is special. The reasons for this are diverse, but perhaps the finest demonstrations are found in the first and the final track.  Haunting Memories starts the album out with a slow build, introducing the listener to the record’s soul.  Brooding ambience builds layer upon layer as a pulsing bass drum forms the backbone of what becomes a mighty swell over the next three minutes.  Everything goes still as a woman's voice echoes over near complete silence, and it's at this moment that w u s o 命 brings back every previous instrument.  Overtop he lays a deep and all-encompassing surge of horns to drive the song.  In these final moments the instrumentals withdraw, leaving us simply with throbbing percussion to lead us into the next piece.

When I first heard Hold it Together, I had this sense that the drums on Haunting Memories represented a pulse - the heartbeat of the city.  Throughout its run time, it takes many different shapes -  a phased synth on Graceful Descent into Madness or a wonderfully nuanced drum pattern at the end of Retire De L’Enfer.  It is ever present, guiding the listener forward - just one of many details that elevates the whole to be far greater than the sum of its parts.

The final composition, Ghosts in the City, begins with synth pads that develop into a well defined melody complimented by a traditional percussion loop. The song continues to add new elements -  a distant piano, orchestrated strings, and industrial sounds.  By three minutes in there are nearly a dozen different layers, becoming nearly overwhelming.  

It is here that the overture takes a turn as each layer is slowly stripped away.  The song is dissected and discarded piece by piece.  By the end we are left with nothing but a single synth fading into darkness.  

By structuring the song this way w u s o 命 has created a composition that embraces the exact opposite of Haunting Memories.  Whereas the first opus takes its time to build from nothing into a massive crescendo, the final track begins as a massive beast and ends with stillness.  This mirroring effect not only highlights the attention invested to the start and finish of Hold it Together, but also the album’s musical narration as a whole.

Outside of the opener and finale, the album presents a buffet of atmospheres and emotions throughout its eight pieces.  This is done with direct intention: “I’ve always been a fan of cinematic styles when writing my music, I wanted to craft something as a whole that brought in different sounds and styles but that was also easy to immerse yourself into with the use of foley and soundtrack style structure," w u s o 命 explained about the cinematic nature of his music.

This versatility in moods is best shown by example.  Following Haunting Memories, Subtle Optimism offers a drastically different take on the structure outlined by the opener.  Instead of a complex brooding atmosphere, we are graced by angelic tones that allow for glimpses of hope.  This is  accomplished without breaking the core identity of the the world w u s o 命 has constructed.

Suppression offers a second drastically different take.  It strips away all introspective meditations and plants us right in the middle of a chaotic rave. This is done through highly distorted bass drums in a four on the floor pattern and industrial noises.  “This track was supposed to represent the “Madness” stage of the album, as noted by the title of the track Suppression, it’s supposed to be an oppressive force that’s just forcing you down and constantly beating down on you.”

Each composition possesses its own identity while contributing to the album’s greater character.  In fact, the first five tracks can be viewed as one large piece - each blending into the next to make them appear as movements rather than individually constructed songs.  The three remaining works are self contained, yet this does not distract from the overall flow of Hold it Together - everything is incorporated exactly as it is meant to be.

“Whenever I go into an album I try to think of an underlying narrative for the entirety of the record. This is no different here, sure there were some tracks that were made at different times, but overall I kind of go with my gut as far as how I want the album structured.  (T)here are times when I feel that the track itself is so complete that it should end on its own, otherwise I feel like it’s a disrespect to that track to force it to continue to the next when it shouldn’t.”

When approaching a work such as Hold it Together I have to ask myself several questions. What is it about certain albums that make them stand above their peers?  Is it the level of detail that goes into the sound design? Is it the depth and care that has gone into every note?  Is it the narrative flow of the music?  Or is it ultimately how the sum is greater than all of the individual parts?  

While I don’t know all the answers, I do believe I have discerned at least partially why a work such as this stands out.  What makes it special is the respect given to the listener.  It’s assumed that the listener wants to be actively engaged.  This is not written just to be put on as background noise. While it certainly can be consumed in this manner much of the nuance and thrill of listening is lost by doing so.  

When engaging with an active ear and giving it your undivided attention for its short run time, the music flourishes.   Our senses relish partaking in the sonic world that has been created.  It extends an invitation to capture your imagination, to take you on a journey, and to return home once all is said and done.  I can’t speak for everyone, but when I feel respected by a creation in the manner that w u s o 命’s Hold it Together does, I can’t help but harken its call time and time again.

Equipment Used
Besides my usual VSTs and Kontakt, the only piece of hard (semi) that I remember using for this was my Mininova. That’s also what made most of the sounds on Lonely Streets and though I don’t really use it anymore, it was fantastic when I was getting into hard synths. Though for this one I really wanted to refine my work with synths and kontakt.

Acknowledgements
First off thank you to w u s o 命 for taking the time to answer my long list of questions and for taking all the time to discuss one of his older albums with me.  Thank you to my small army of proofreaders: Blashy, Brandon, Void Stare, R Infinity, and Kagami.  As always thank you to Blissmonkey for editing, promotion, janitorial services, and a million other uncredited things around these reviews and DRC.