[Album Review] Mosh - Empire

I hope everyone had an awesome Halloween! October is officially over, but there's still lots to talk about.

Alberta-native Adam Bignell AKA Mosh released his second LP titled Empire two days ago. Supported heavily by the /r/electronicmusic community on reddit, Bignell was finally able to release the album and it has already received amazing reviews from dozens on users, even sparking a subsequent AMA from the producer.

One of the traits that sets Bignell apart (aside from not having the backing of a major label behind him) is his sincerity - every track sounds utterly polished, and it is completely obvious how much time went into the production. Empire has a fantastic Eastern theme throughout and Bignell does a fantastic job of merging the ancient-esque sounds of Japan and China with modern electronic synths and rhythms. From his AMA on reddit -

I tried to represent power with women because I wanted to simultaneously make reference to power without "masculine brawn". A sort of psychological, contextual power that I feel a woman conveys better.

And I've just always adored eastern music. The scales and techniques they use are gorgeous and feel very serious while being down to earth. I find traditional western music feels more... snobby (not to say it's bad. But much of the classical world has a very high class feeling)? Where traditional chinese/japanese music feels very human.

Aside from the obvious club banger "Komodo," Bignell tries his hand with hip-hop in "Loud" and absolutely kills it. Great use of featured artists and a fantastic beat make the track one of the best on the album. "Metrapol" has already been slated for a music video to follow up to "McQueen" from Bignell's first album, Monarchy. However, my personal favorite track from the album is, undoubtedly, "Zodiac Overdrive." I love the guitar riffs and the gritty sounds right before it drops the bass and I find myself just banging my head in my room, all alone. "Shaolin" and "Year of the Dragon" are fantastic examples of how eastern music can be reworked to produce faux-cinematic masterpieces. In fact, a lot of tracks on the album are highly reminiscent of oft-masked electro producer Danger.




The album changes tempos and rhythms seamlessly and it just plain works. It's a fantastic accomplishment. I found myself thinking I was in Tron, if it were set in medieval Japan. In fact, Bignell mentioned in his AMA that he would really love to do a big film score - so now all we have to do it wait. Also, don't forget - this album is "Pay What You Want"! So it's free, if you'd like, but I would really recommend supporting the man that's helping to get your groove on, ya hear?

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