It was a pleasant surprise to wake up to music that re-connected me to my inner nrrd girl, and the new EP by Paris-based electro producer and graphic artist Danger was that perfect combination of Steven Spielberg’s AI and early 2000’s animated classic Batman Beyond. Only someone with an organic appreciation for the sci-fi elements of that Hollywood era and deep thoughts on increasingly technologically-based culture could dream up an EP of this nature. I heard it as a soundtrack encompassing both hero and villain in succession on a quest that hurtles the listener through a dark and decidedly gothic underworld. Franck Rivoire himself is somewhat mysterious, with a dark veil that shrouds all but his positively cinematic musical endeavors. Having already remixed the likes of La Roux, Estelle, Empire of the Sun and One Republic he has now released his fourth EP on his own label 1789 Records.
In the DJ Mag premiere, Danger had this to say on the mystifying themes behind his work: “As a child, I grew up sitting in front of a computer by myself. That is where I learnt about music; playing video games and watching endless reruns of cartoons and American TV shows. Television gave me shelter when I was alone, nursed me with Hollywood’s mythologies. It guided me through nameless countries; with it I brought down colossuses and climbed mountains. I preached its beliefs. But when I grew up, all my heroes died.”
Perhaps this latest EP is his way of paying homage to the animated heroes, villains and futuristic landscapes that he so loved growing up, which have more recently been surpassed by mid-2000’s blockbusters with fantastic graphics but much less of a storyline. Already #6 on the iTunes electro charts in just two days, the EP has clearly struck a synth chord with children of the 90’s and animated fiction fans alike. July 2013 is now available for download on iTunes.
First track “1:09” begins the quest through the criminal underworld of a city not dissimilar from Gotham with ever building dark and shadowy synth chords. It has the same sweeping and almost classically based elements that one would find in the gear-up scene of a superhero donning his costume and dashing into the night.
Our hero’s journey really heats up in second track, “1:13” hurtling through the night armed with whatever out of this world machine he may possess to travel in, completed with a synth soundscape that mimics what the zoom-in would look like if it were animated.
Third track, “1:30” may in fact be where he meets his villain and arch nemesis in the quest and the real breakdown begins, with an ever intensifying beat and dark, menacing sound effects that echo in the dark underworld that our hero has entered.
The finale “1:42” finds our hero after the battle with whatever nemesis he may have faced, whether the villain is alive or dead. I felt like we could almost see him shrouded in mystery as he disappears into the night to prepare for his next mission.
