Prague’s Harmless Youth unveils its next LP, their second from Czech DJ and musician Vision of 1994 (a.k.a Silhouette), a dreary and emotionally complex album appropriately entitled ‘Defragmented Dream‘.
‘Concrete Memories‘, Vision’s first album for the label, was not just a standout album for the Czech scene on its release in mid-2020: it was a vital document of modern Czech national identity, growing up in post-Soviet society, as relatable for locals as it remains a compelling listen for all. ‘Defragmented Dream‘ completes the two-part cycle of the artist’s personal reflection as a stark reality-check, a reflection on the demands of adulthood and the pale reality of expectations and one’s dreams of the future.
The album is composed Madlib-style, original hip-hop-influenced introspective beats furnished with samples gleaned from sources immediately recognisable (Pharoah Sanders’ ‘Harvest Time‘ on the opener) and those more obscure (‘Wildt‘ draws heavily from a Moroccan Gnawa master’s collaboration with the late spiritual jazz master).
The album features many collaborations with local talent which readers of Inverted Audio over the last two years will recognise — Lotus Wash and Täino — as well as new names to the site St.Jakob, and the Liberec-based D’n’B DJ Misology, who collaborates on album closer ‘Uncertain Harvest‘. It’s a pensive piece hinged on piano and surging dubstep basslines, perfectly summarising the dual moods of the album: darkness and light together, of stoic happiness tinged with deep underlaying melancholia.
‘Defragmented Dream’ is scheduled for release 17 October via Harmless Youth. Order a copy from Bandcamp.
TRACKLIST
1. Indescribable
2. Love-less
3. Champion Theme (ft. St.Jakob)
4. Vera
5. Give it Back
6. Doomed (ft. Lotus Wash)
7. Late Night Classics (skit)
8. Wildt
9. Dungeon (ft. Täino)
10. Midnight Bells
11. Nightsweats
12. Uncertain Harvest (ft. Misology)