Aesthetic Perfection - LAX

Whenever I utter the phrase, "I have never listened to Aesthetic Perfection," I am usually met with a raised eyebrow and an upright, "Bullshit," counter claim but I swear to you all that this is the truth. I have never listened to anything but remixes from AP and it has nothing to do with a personal distaste for the Aesthetic Perfection name or the founder of the project Daniel Graves. I don't know what has held me back; perhaps I'm just a stubborn prick who listens to what he wants when he wants. And, well, I guess I'm breaking my stubborn prick tonight to become a little flaccid in order to chow down and break my Aesthetic Perfection cherry as I listen to their latest single LAX.

I know, I know, I normally make arrangements NOT to review singles and the like but considering I wanted to listen to Aesthetic Perfection and I govern this pretty little website, I figured I'd give it the good'ol review treatment. Not only that but it has upcoming artist Kanga and the always sensational Mr.Kitty attached as remixers so the idea to check out LAX was consciously ushered in even more. As per usual, anyone with a condescending opinion can shove a fist up their cunt.

The most surprising thing I noticed about Aesthetic Perfection upon listening to LAX was his extremely fine tuned and high quality production values. In a field where most everyone in a bedroom can make music with a DAW, Aesthetic Perfection transforms his music into art. The underground electro with stompy EBM influences is just great and I love seeing the genres I love ever so much transcend boundaries. 

The other thing that turned me on about the single was the music video that accompanied the single which took major influences from Nicolas Winding Refn as well as Hip Hop (as stated by Daniel Graves in a comment on the music video's YouTube page). It also featured Goth Pop musician Nyxx whose flair and dark style cooperated with Graves' imagery immensely. I will be diving into her music at a later date, so be on the lookout for that. 


Now, onto the remixes. The mention of Mr.Kitty is enough to get anyone flocking to the source material he's featured on, but paired with Daniel Graves it's a match made in Heaven. While Graves' vocals are moved from the scratchy throat presentation on the original mix of the song to a cleaner, digital version, the song takes a heavier synth approach. The remix can best be described as dreamy synthwave or, quite simply put, a Mr.Kitty remix. It was beautiful. 

The second remix came from Heavy Pop artist Kanga. It's important to mention here and now that Kanga was recently signed to the revered Negative Gain Productions roster; if you haven't heard of that label or any of the musicians associated with it, stop reading this and do your research right now. Either way, based on this remix I understand why this producer was sought after by the label. Her remix switches from dual vocals between her own chords and Graves' (which was fucking fantastic) to heavy, sludgy industrial metal-esque sounds to almost ritual-like electronic flow. The combination of sounds on the remix is read oddly when written out, but just listen to it yourself and you'll fall in love with the track. And if you don't you're wrong. Completely and utterly wrong.  

So, I can say that I am more than impressed by Aesthetic Perfection and the name behind the band Daniel Graves. I will be going back in time to digest the rest of AP's discography and discover what other gems I may have missed out on. Plus, because of this single, I've been reminded/introduced to three other musicians that I need to rediscover/explore more, as well. I have lots of work to do. Well, done, Aesthetic Perfection, well done! 
Jul 26 2016