BTM0001 - Outputmessage - Black

Artist: Outputmessage
Release: Black
Date: May 7, 2021
Tracks: 2
Length: 25:36

Tracklisting
01 Black 13:03
02 Burns 12:33

100% of sales will be donated to Bread for the City whose mission is to help Washington, DC residents living with low income to develop their power to determine the future of their own communities.

Washington, D.C. experience artist Outputmessage continues his exploration of improvisational drum music with Black, a heavy-hitting one-two punch of monolithic techno. Clocking in at 13 minutes, the title track starts with a minimal tight groove that takes the listener on a hypnotic journey as it morphs and mutates until it barely fits into the speakers. It's a feat that shows off the immense depth of Outputmessage's sonic bag of tricks. Too deep. Too dark. Too loud. Too long. Too distorted. Too unpredictable. Too sexy. Too different. Too heavy. Too Beautiful. Too Black. So what?

"Burns" was recorded in his basement the week that D.C. legend Sam "The Man" Burns passed in March 2020. "It was an immense loss for the D.C. dance community and it happened just a week before things started locking down because of coronavirus. I found myself going down to the basement over and over to record and get out my feelings." A mixture of anger, grief, and loss can be heard in the aggressive rhythms punctured with red-lined kick drums and garbled electronics, but there is also a sense of hope as the music quietly hits its peak with a few elegant chords 8 minutes in.

Both tracks provide a then-and-now story arc that coincides with the journey of a pre-George-Floyd-to-post-insurrection-America. It's a fitting start to the expansion of Black Techno Matters from a non-profit events organization to a music label as it continues its mission to reclaim Techno as a political music genre for Black creatives.

Outputmessage

Outputmessage is Bernard Farley, an experience artist based in Washington, D.C. Through singing, dancing, music, DJing, photography, video, and lighting, he creates familiar, yet subversive, multi-faceted experiences that explore themes of queer and black identity. His recent works include the 8 hour album Love & War, the explosive protest techno music video “Wake the Fuck up!”, the Black Techno Matters March to the White House, live ambient jam sessions as Smoke & Tea with Patrick Blinkhorn, and the bewildering Weapons of Mass Distraction.

Marshall StukesOutputmessage