Silent Servant unveils new track “Loss Response” from his impending album Shadows of Death and Desirewhich drops next Friday on Hospital Productions. Revolver debuted the single drawing comparisons to the likes of Andy Stott, Demdike Stare and Burial. They go onto say “though darkly pensive and ambient at its core, “Loss Response” is propelled by metallic drum hits of the most creative sort, allowing the slowly shifting serenity of the synths to swell and back off in waves. It’s calming and uneasy, aggressive yet accommodating.” Read more here.
Producer, DJ and art director Juan Mendez arguably reset techno at least twice. Once with his surreal and Europe-by-way-of-LA ’80s apocalypse culture aesthetics for Sandwell District, and again–as Silent Servant–with his “Jealous God” imprint that captured the youth-driven mutation of crossover electronics and dark parties churning in the American underground, which followed directly in the wake of his game-changing modern classic, Negative Fascination.
On Shadows of Death and Desire, Mendez‘s sound has evolved — more aggressive, more stripped-down acid punk electro dance attacks. While many would stall after the success of a now contemporary cult classic, Mendez took his time to deliver a more raw–yet refined–brutalism in his second album.
Also a student of cinematic deconstruction, the album looks inward from the exterior of LA’s untold stories in the netherworlds on the edge of the city–a rapid crash course in confidence games and subsequent letdowns. Having survived a five-year whirlwind of global travel and nighttime explorations into “f*ing shit up,” Mendezreflects on his techno epics, saying, “What happens with failure? Disillusionment. I know it’s in a good place – I want to touch it, but I don’t want to live there. This is the not the person you are – don’t be this person. Stop.”
Silent Servant has confirmed a special live performance and record release show as part of Hospital Fest 2018 at The Knockdown Center in NYC on December 8. Follow the event page here for updates and details. Go here for a full list of Silent Servant live dates.