HYPE: Dirty Beaches

Thanks to the Altered Zones Tumblr, I came across an enigmatic photo of Canadian musician Alex Zhang (above, taken by The Decibel Tolls) performing at SXSW under his Dirty Beaches moniker. Not initially knowing who the performer was really got me interested in what music this guy could possibly be making. Attired not unlike most mainstream rock-stars I had little idea what to expect, the idyllic background could be pushing that this show was small in nature, yet still gave no clues to the style of music that Zhang has to offer.

A chilling and droning sound was laid before me with “Golden Desert Sun”, a track underpinned by a beat so hypnotic I’d be surprised if you weren’t playing this on loop for the next few hours or so. Zhang’s vocals are also very haunting, with a harshness to the lo-fi recording that is striking.There’s also the demo version of “Street Beat Dub” that I found on his soundcloud, a pulsing backdrop that coupled with jarring vocals similarly creates something notable. You can buy Dirty Beaches material here and follow Zhang’s blog here

WATCH: “Golden Desert Sun”
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/20903975 w=640&h=424]
STREAM: “Street Beat Dub (Demo)”
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/11626975"]

[ via/image source ]