Berlin-based alternative desktop doom artist K4LT dropped his new EP, Endgame, not long ago. The EP blends elements of ambient electronica, doom metal, alternative, post-punk, and post-rock.
Speaking to the EP, K4LT states, “‘Endgame’ is the antithesis to a debut album – it’s an exhausted commentary about regularly finding yourself in an ominous state, trying to make sense of that, and then getting back on your feet. There’s no alternative but to move forward as there are great moments in life and the music also depicts that. It just seems that gravity on this planet seems to always increase. However, I´m still an optimist and there are many good things happening every day, and isn´t that something to wake up for?”
Created in 2017, the project known as K4LT projects the universal sense of being lost.
Talking about his creative process, K4LT shares, “Composing with Ableton really changed my approach to songwriting. Now, I always start out with tiny loops and then try to make sense of it. I guess the nights in Berlin´s techno bunkers also made me appreciate repetitive patterns a lot more.”
Comprising five tracks, Endgame starts off with “Boarding Pass,” opening on dirge-like oscillating tones attended by a cavernous bassline. Dark, moody vocals fill the lyrics with elegiac savors, giving the tune a shadowy essence rife with tight tension and foreboding.
“Loading Screen” travels on a slow rhythmic pulse topped by darkly gleaming guitars, while psychedelic whooshes add running hues. As the harmonics advance, the music mousses up with heavy, growling doom-like energy. “Ahead/Back” rides oozing keyboards, followed by desolate vocals slowly swelling with resonance. Waves on piano and organ-like synths imbue the harmonics with rising and falling layers of sonic pressure.
“Fugae” features a delicate, trickling intro made up of a platinum-tinted guitar, and then injects serrated industrial metal coloration, giving the tune edgy nuances atop a shuddering rhythm.
“Extinction Aphelion,” the final track, pumps out surging textures of doom metal and then descends into dreamy, glowing prog-rock surfaces, while K4LT’s somber quasi-chant-like tones infuse the lyrics with despondency.
Endgame is both imaginative and unlike any other genre, reflecting the feeling of lostness characteristic of K4LT’s sonic temperament. Definitely worth listening to because of its unique amalgamation of stylistic components.
