For anybody who has spent an afternoon or two watching random musicians give performances on YouTube, Deantoni Parks is one musician who shouldn’t need an introduction. The man is a creative polymath in drums or electronic production circles. He is a renowned Georgia-born drummer who spent time in rock bands like Mars Volta and Bosnian Rainbows before creating his solo avant-electronic composer project Technoself. This led him to wield a drumstick in one hand and a sampler/keyboard in the other, twisting notes and samples into a new totally self-reliant form of electronic performance. For most people, it would take more than one person to knock that out, but Parks does it with such ease and precision that it puts him above the class of your average drummers.
Parks has tackled concept albums before with the three-track Deanthoven, where he blends his drumming with classical samples, and Atlantasia, an album tributing 1920s and 1930s era of soundtrack music. His latest one, Stargate, is an entry into the world of music mirroring science fiction. Within this record, melodies lean more towards the ambient/minimal compared to his more maximal works. For example, the one-two punch of “Introductory” and “Kris Kelvin,” a track made for the legendary astrophysicist, sets the scene with explosive and expertly arranged drums that blend the rhythmic style of both jazz and trap music. The ghostly synth pads provide a pitch-black pallet over such drums threatening to fall apart at any moment. “Pulled Towards Light” is where the drumming finally reaches its chaotic point—a one-minute free collage sounding like a chopped-up version of The Big Bang. Even the title track clashes with idiosyncratic drums as if jungle rhythms were arranged with free jazz’s risky freedom. Creeping synth cries similar to birds in a tree add an almost horror-inspired feel.
But there are moments where restraint—especially rhythmic—serves the vibe of a track just as well. In fact, it often takes things to a cinematic level. “Smooth Timespace” crawls with flickering metal pad blinks and drums suggesting a slow descent into the unknown. Imagine a soundtrack to a Kubrick-like slow inch forward in a quiet room, and you’ll be in the ballpark. Also, the robotic march of “Propulsion” begins first with a crimson-red distorted blare of minor key synths. A simple one-two stomping rhythm is all that is needed to assist with the track’s dark tension from start to finish. The track even pairs high-energy drums with bright yet alien synths. All come together to demonstrate Parks’ prowess as an energetic drummer.
On Stargate, genres from ambient to blast beat jazz are explored with wild and imaginative abandon. But the most important part of this project isn’t the genres, rather it’s the intensity giving way to the image of flying through outer space. Drums are sometimes pushed to the red to signal chaotic rides, synths sound like air on other planets or like something happened. Those who are seeking music with an adventure within itself will appreciate and even truly enjoy Stargate.
