Warsaw-based producer, DJ and live performer TAMTEN lines up his debut album ‘End Of That World‘ on Polish underground outlet Lucyna Records, bolstered with a trippy music video for ‘Fantasy‘, directed by Warsaw-based visual artist Adka Szadzińska.
Spanning 11 sonic ectoplasms, ‘End Of That World‘ LP follows up the story of TAMTEN’s previous dream ‘Diamentowa Sutra‘ EP with an amalgam of modern kraut tragedy and leftfield extravaganza tipped towards the metaphysical side of electronica. TAMTEN provides context expressing that ‘End Of That World‘ refers to a Greek-inspired dystopia in a highly infected landscape.
The tale opens up with the thunderous seagull symphony ‘That World‘, ‘Out Of The Lab‘ brutally rings the alarm clock – leaving the listeners with a disaster seemingly palpable, the twitchy new wave trick ‘It Spreads With Data‘ dilates our minds with high-pitched mermaids voices.
‘Hell Dance‘ suggests obscure puppet dances coming straight from the underworld, ‘Hollow Body‘ transports the listeners on a synth-driven dark disco jaunt re-interpreted by the Poznań-born producer Freux, the dazzled-out ‘Fantasy‘ provides a good dose of odd-shaped fruiting body, the legendary producer Pejzaż – alias Earth Trax – step in with a hideout dub version of ‘The Sound Of Silence‘.
‘Radio Entr’Acte‘ delivers a fast-changing FM skit, ‘Orpheus Drama’ dives deep into the endured agony when it comes to the miscarriage of consciousness, the psycho-atomic climax ‘Hiroshima Type Of Thing‘ features the sample of Krzysztof Penderecki – ‘Tren – Ofiarom Hiroszimy’ – and prevents from interacting with mad-tempered humans and last but not least, ‘Bombscape Vultures‘, tails end with a drone maze of vital awakening.
“Fantasy refers to a daydream in which the character take control over the altered reality in order to build the narrative. In this half-conscious time lapse, inspired by sound aesthetics from my previous ‘Diamentowa Sutra’ EP, daily fears start to invade the infected reality.
The different characters in the video, such as the soul analyst, the slave, the conqueror and the holy spirit translate a body language largely forgotten during the pandemic. At the end, they all coincide into one main figure escaping from the video frame – symbolizing the closing of this life chapter.
Concerning the visual production, I was mostly inspired by art-house movies, improvised theater television and even Bollywood satires. Everything was recorded at Błędów Desert where the Polish pop band Bajm has also shot the track ‘Nie Ma Wody Na Pustynii’, a huge inspiration for me.” Matt Brzezny
“From the whole album, this track resonated with me the most. It is like a fairytale dream in a very hostile desert. Sunny, hypnotising and after all kind of dangerous. The hero might be lost, but he’s more curious and fascinated than scared.
Personal saviours are met along the way, holy ones but devilish ones as well. He has no fear, the sense of infinity brings the ego to the fore, the fantastic, the limitless, the one not appropriate for the reality. We explore more as we get lured deeper into the desert.
This story has a cathartic potential, following one’s fantasy in the endless desert, chasing the gods/demons by recognising them in yourself, that’s how you fix an internal conflict. I feel like we created visuals of what it could be like if you actually set yourself free.
Operating in such an undefined, constantly creating space as a dream is liberating. We were familiar with the visual elements before going to the desert and we’ve put in place some preparations upfront. However, the creative process was largely influenced by the singularity of the location.
The story has a beginning and an end, but in the middle of it, we were playing with the unknown. I feel like I wouldn’t want to wake up from a dream like this. I’d rather stay and explore more of what’s inside, it’s tempting but disastrous.” Adka Szadzińska
‘End Of That World’ is scheduled for release 13th October via Lucyna Records. Order a vinyl copy from Bandcamp.
