Heard It Here First

Thursday night, as the clock struck midnight, the sky turned black as ink, and for just a second the world stopped turning as the moment dance music fans everywhere had long awaited finally arrived. That may seem a bit dramatic to anyone on the outside, but, for those of us engulfed in the electronic music realm, the unveiling of Jesse Kardon’s aka Subtronics’ sophomore album, TESSERACT, warrants a musical holiday. 

With over two years of planning, the bass-bending maestro utilizes every tool in his production belt to craft another groundbreaking album. The result of his hard work: a vibrant genre-blending masterpiece. Subtronics, fans, and artists alike have eagerly waited for the day of TESSERACT’s full release. Each of TESSERACT’s tracks has a unique sonic stamp delivering listeners varying immersive electronic soundscapes fitting every setting from the late-night feral festival hours to the serene moments right before slumber. 

Since the release of the explosive collaboration between Subtronics and HOL!, “Mind Pluck”, the highly anticipated TESSERACT album has been at the forefront of every dubstep enthusiast’s mind. In the months leading up to now, Subtronics followed up with single after single showcasing the diabolical dubstep collabs of the album. Initial releases, “Black Ice” with Rezz, “Asteroid” with Excision, “Insidious” featuring Grabbitz, and “Omnidirectional,” all have quickly climbed towards or past the one million listens mark with no signs of slowing down. 

To everyone’s delight, his last single release from the album “Alien Communication” debuted just two days before the final midnight release and immediately sent shockwaves through the internet. The track was co-written by Swedish Indie Pop darling Lykke Li, who is well known for working behind the scenes with artists outside of her genre space. The unveiling of his newest album coincides with the start of his sixteen-date US album tour, THE TESSERACT TOUR. Fans across the country are invited to catch Subtronics rinse his newest hits alongside Wooli, HEDEX, Autohmate, Distinct Motive, Jon Casey, saka, Skellytn, and SuperAve.

Subtronics also released a mini-mix of him chopping up the tracks off TESSERACT, only hours after the album saw its official release. Check that out below.

TESSERACT’s opening track, “Cottage Gore” immediately sends a tingle down our spines launching listeners through space and time with a mystical interstellar introduction. Our ears are greeted by a gentle chiming melody accompanied by a haunting monologue setting the stage for the incoming crescendo. As we reach the boiling point, a barrage of stuttering synths launches us to our back-breaking destination. Subtronics masterfully lets loose a minefield of electronic sounds setting the tone for the album from the start.

“Only Star You See”‘s euphoric energy is guided by the ethereal vocals of Caitlyn Scarlett. Her enchanting voice draws us in with the lyrics “When the lights go out I’m the only star you see in the crowd” before we are graced with a zealous explosion of wild drum and bass. The combination of Caitlyn’s vocals and an infectiously upbeat tempo engulf us in an emotive feel-good soundscape that will keep you coming back for another listen. 

Fans got a little taste of the follow-up track “Amnesia” the night before its official release. Subtronics showcases his signature sound stylings mixing comedic lyrics from a popular YouTube skit “Dracula Flow 3” with a thick layer of choppy bass. Festival goers beware, when the song comes on prepare for the ground to quake from the eruption of high-knees around you. 

Subtronics switches gears taking us down a dark and dubious road on “Afternoon Coffee”. UK rapper, Ronzo, aids us through the deep dubstep waters with murky lyricism perfectly complimented by the swampy atmosphere. The following gurgling bass floods our ears as Subtronics takes us deeper and deeper into his labyrinth of sound. 

“Parabola Paradox” enlists another UK lyricist, Kwengface, known for his blunt, in-your-face lyrics. His ferocious words fuel the fire of the building tempo setting the stage for the incoming inferno. Between Kwengface’s brutal vocals and the relentless chopped bass, this track is designed to be a heavy dubstep enthusiast’s dream. The words “I’m about to take over the sea I’m about to take over the planet” send shockwaves through our speakers as the sub-rattling bass booms in the background. 

Subtronics incorporates the full array of the electronic spectrum in his multi-dimensional piece “Interface Wheel”. The track manipulates a percolating sci-fi harmony filled with bubbling chimes and crunchy reverb. The balance between the digital sound play and bouncy bass delivers a perfectly blended composition.

“Dreams” transports listeners to a foreign world, none the likes fans have heard from Subtronics before. Together, with the aid of featured artist, Crooked Bangs, Subtronics creates a lush soundscape employing bizarre synths accompanied by offbeat hi-hats and angelic vocals. “Dreams” is a true display of Subtronics’ production prowess as he displays his range, here taking on the House genre.

“Reality Distortion” lives up to its name as the piece employs distorted reverb and glitchy, echoed chops. Subtronics provides another heavy-hitting dubstep anthem prepped and ready to do damage this festival season. From start to finish, “Reality Distortion” is a wonky rollercoaster ride of bass.

Subtronics made sure to hold nothing back when putting together “Quantum Queso”. The soft and inviting beginning brings listeners right into his sonic embrace right before taking us to a wobbly sub-knocking transition. Despite the booming composition “Quantum Queso” holds onto the magical sound-play throughout the entire piece allowing the two to work in perfect unison. 

To close out the album, Subtronics recruits UK singer-songwriter, Jem Cooke, for his melodic drum-and-bass track, “Buried Alive”. The opening melody soothes us with its enchanting aura only bolstered by the captivating sounds of Jem Cooke. As the track builds we are slowly led to the rapid-fire second crescendo where tantalizing keys meet percussive bass. “Buried Alive” concludes the TESSERACT album with precision and flare giving fans one last euphoric journey to the end of the album.

Here is what Subtronics had to say about his newest sixteen-track album, TESSERACT: 

“Sonically speaking, I believe this wholly represents my personality and sound as best as I can thus far, with the things I have learned over the years, in conjunction with what I have recently been inspired by. TESSERACT is a proper sequel to my first album FRACTALS and in the same sense, I once again aimed to demonstrate my range in style, sound, and emotion. Some songs are meant for the dancefloor, some are meant for the car, and some are meant to serenade you to sleep. I am trying as best I can to create an immersive alternative reality with a magical yet sci-fi-esque world of energy and feeling across the entire spectrum. I hope it leaves a long-lasting impact on the listener and the dance music community as a whole. It is truly something I can look back on in 30 years and still be proud of because I know that this is the sound I am truly passionate about, and I really gave it my everything. This album is my second child, more than two years in the making, and I poured everything I could into it.” – Subtronics

Tell us below which track off of Subtronics’ new TESSERACT album you have on repeat down below in the comments! We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

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