The Storm Has Passed

There are all sorts of explanations going round for Trump's victory in the US presidential election last week, some that try to boil things down to very simple ones. As ever with history and current affairs, things are multi- causal; Trump offered something that Kamala couldn't- change. He strikes a chord with people who have been told that the economy has been doing better but whose grocery bills have risen by 20%. His swaggering, macho bluster finds favour with American men who could not bring themselves to vote for a woman (and a Black woman at that). There are many Americans who see Trump as an outsider, someone who tells it 'as it is' and they see him as giving the elite a kicking. Some Americans have not forgiven the half of the nation who elected a Black president, Barrack Obama, twice. The assassination attempt that brushed Trump's ear gave him the single most important image of the campaign. The weaponising of 'the war on woke' and identity politics seems to have been a factor, the anti- immigrant narrative too.  Kamala's warnings of impending fascism were dismissed. There are studies that suggest that in any democratic society there are approximately 30% of the adult population who are happy with authoritarianism, who want strong leaders who get things done and are content with limits and curbs on democracy. All these things and more may help explain last week. For many Americans a binary choice led them to Trump. One thing is sure- in 2016 people might not have known what they were getting. They cannot say that this time around. It's completely clear what Trump is- and people voted for it. He will have few brakes on him this time around. It will be fascinating and terrifying seeing what happens over the next four years, potentially watching a democracy unravel in real time.

One of my most played albums recently has been on Mighty Force, a label which has had a resurgence in recent years, and 2024 especially. I've written before about M- Paths, an ambient/ techno outfit on Mighty Force. M- Paths Submerge came out earlier this year. Now, Marcus from M- Paths has released an album as Reverb Delay. It's not a side project or an offshoot, M- Paths and Reverb Delay are different parts of Marcus' music. M- Paths are calming and chilled. Reverb Delay are less so. Reverb Delay are dub techno in the 90s tradition- thumping drums, faster bpms, less friendly maybe but totally  absorbing, an intense and metronomic ride, reminiscent of Basic Channel and the sound of Detroit techno artists like Carl Craig and Juan Atkins.

The album, The Storm Has Passed, is fourteen tracks long, and is in part about Trump and MAGA. Unfortunately the storm is not passed, it's in some ways not even begun, but Reverb Delay are here to soundtrack the end of 2024. It's sequenced as a proper album, a short intro with the sampled voice of Mario Silvio in 1964 speaking at a sit- in in Berkeley. Third track Eating Echo Chambers uses the voices of ground control and the Apollo mission as they approached the moon, rattling snares and a thumping kick, ominous synths and acres of dub space. 

It's followed by Embrace which is long, dark and hissy, Berlin basement techno. Horizontal Rain has rapid fire beats and salvos of synth noise. On Maldek a crazed voice bursts in, railing against Jimmy Carter and a one world government. Track 11, Weaponizing, is grimly prophetic, sampling a Trump supporter talking about Biden weaponizing the FBI and how Trump will win again before the thud of the kick drum and juddering synths take over. 

The final pair of tracks, She and Verb, keep the tension high, train- like drum tracks pounding ever onwards, synth chords, a disembodied voice bringing the human element to this machine music. The Storm Has Passed ends in spooky style with Verb, dub space, the crackle of radio static, underwater bleeps and bubbles, and just audible the recently declassified sound files of US navy pilots describing their efforts to keep up with UFOs they've spotted. It's highly recommended and you can listen and buy it at Bandcamp.