Genetics

It might be a surprise to see a heavy dubstep artist such as Exclusion being mentioned in a chillout-focused blog such as Stereofox. Life, however, is full of surprises, the lead track off his new Trick Sanity LP being a shining example. A world away from his usual taste for tight drums and distorted basses, "Genetics" is an incredibly intimate and personal ambient piece displaying the LA-based producer's impressive diversity.

The track is beautiful in it's own right, ripe with soundscapes and choral movements that swell around twinkling plucks and a soft bubbling texture that runs throughout. However when it is placed into the context of the LP, it becomes something truly special:

"This album, to me, represents a horribly-great story about mental illness. A story that most people in the world either relate with, or know someone who can relate with. This album really encapsulates the feelings that I would associate with somebody's descent into mental illness."

Exclusion

What seemed a nonchalant, peaceful drift through a soundscape now becomes a far more complex affair. Perhaps the calm is in fact nodding to the process of accepting one's issues and "finding peace" within oneself, working to make the most out of the given situation. Alternatively, perhaps the track reflects the deceptively slow and steady process of the formation of the brain, the source of all the emotions so viscerally described in the rest of the LP.

The answer is unsure, but perhaps that ambiguity in itself lends towards illustrating the lack of human knowledge when it comes to understanding and treating mental illness. Whatever the intended impact of the track, it sets up an atmosphere that the rest of the tracklist builds on perfectly. Released on the cinematic label "New Dawn Collective", the LP sounds like a descent into one's own worries, doubts and anxieties, and is absolutely worth a listen.