For his joyous Fact mix Bloomfeld relentlessly chases different forms and definitions of ecstasy, tracing the connections between dissociative Euro-hedonism and contemporary Pan-African music.
As the ringleader of Berlin-based, multidisciplinary art collective Overthinker Mob, Bloomfeld is all too familiar with riding the line between concept-orientated, heady approaches to music and tracks aimed squarely at the body, sound that rattles bones and live performance that you can feel in your internal organs. Conceived as an anonymous space for unfinished music that can be understood in various ways as overthought and founded with the intent to disrupt conventional models for distributing music and visual art, Overthinker Mob gestures towards a more holistic, community-focused approach, the same approach that Bloomfeld takes towards his own production and selecting. His debut album, LARP OS, is a reflection on the producer’s nascent years through the lens of live-action role playing games, a performative practice of assumed identity that Bloomfeld identifies with in his everyday interactions. “For my part I am blessed with the ability to distinguish and compartmentalise the characters I adopt to navigate my circumstances, and I have a strong bond with all of them,” he explains. Choosing a model that reflects moving between the personalities of multiple avatars, as opposed to a single protagonist identity, Bloomfeld rejects a singular sound, choosing instead to amplify polyphony, drawing from a wide breadth of sounds and styles and in so doing tracing the connections between them.
It’s this adventurous sense of audio exploration that drives Bloomfeld’s joyous Fact mix, which sees the artist chasing different forms and definitions of ecstasy across continents and decades. “This mix compiles a few recent findings for my ‘Ethnofuturist Transmissions’ and ‘Non-Physical Rave’ playlists, as well as more aged ones,” he says. “I’m not saying I wasn’t just messing about with a bunch of bangers, but I tried my best at deconstructing some familiar sonic aesthetics connotated with ecstatic European hedonism to uncover elements that overlap with both modern (Pan-) African and ancestral concepts of ecstasy.” Bounding between gqom, amapiano, trap, dark ambient, breaks, bass and techno, Bloomfeld relentlessly pursues the superposition of dissociative euro-hedonism by powerfully physical rhythms developed with the precise purpose of guiding ecstatic movement. In this hybrid space, held between ‘Ethnofuturist’ body music and ‘Non-Physical’ braindance head-scratchers, experimental stalwart Objekt and rising Berlin producer Notte Infinita tune in to the same dark euphoria and erotic tension as gqom royalty Newlandz Finest and DJ Lag and industrial amapiano duo Aryu Jassika and Bujin.
The irresistible skip of Gafacci’s iconic amapiano and azonto update of Haddaway’s ‘What Is Love’ amplifies the loose joy of contemporary UK funky collective Funkystepz, while DJ Lag and Sinjin Hawke’s cyber-gqom smasher ‘Raptor’ channels the same maximalism as a vintage trap instrumental from UZ. Whether it’s Bliss Signal’s scorched-earth ambient into Bambounou’s intricate puzzle box breaks, Massacooraman’s ice-cold instrumental grime autopsy of Prettybwoy’s’ ‘Shadow Riddim,’ paving the way for Lorenzo Senni’s brittle straight edge rave to seep into lysergic percussive reflection from Space Drum Meditation, or NKC’s cacophonous hard drum sound lending riotous energy to Gafacci and Chefbanku’s ‘KICKY’, it’s clear that Bloomfeld is constantly juggling different conceptions of the ecstatic – whether narcotic, transcendent or simply just giddy. What’s clear above all is that Bloomfeld is having the best time, despite the fact that he, and we, might well be overthinking it.
You can find Bloomfeld on Instagram. LARP OS arrives on July 1, on Lobster Theremin.
Tracklist:
Objekt – ‘Secret Snake’
Notte Infinita – ‘ID’ (unreleased)
Newlandz Finest x Omagoqa – ‘That Bass’
DJ Lag x General C’mamane – ‘No Childs Play’
Aryu Jassika x Bujin – ‘Miss Madam Flesh Eater’
Gafacci – ‘What is Love’
Funkystepz – ‘Ninjaclart’
Newlandz Finest – ‘N.F.C.S’
DJ Lag x Sinjin Hawke – ‘Raptor’
UZ – ‘Trap Shit V6’
Bloomfeld – ‘QR vs. PIN’ (unreleased)
Bloomfeld – ‘Bad Idea’ (unreleased)
Ludwig Wandinger – ‘ID’
Bliss Signal – ‘Slow Scan’
Bambounou – ‘Temple’
DJ Lag x OKZharp – ‘Steam One’
Hectic Boyz – ‘Badlands’
Notte Infinita – ‘ID’ (unreleased)
Mafou – ‘ID’ (unreleased)
Alys – ‘ID’ (unreleased)
Logic1000 – ‘Derriere’
Bloomfeld – ‘Voodoo Bref’ (unreleased)
Prettybwoy – ‘Shadow Riddim (Massacooramaan Remix)’
Lorenzo Senni – ‘Rave Voyeur’
Space Drum Meditation – ‘Müde Augen’
MM – ‘Tompocalypse’
NKC – ‘Hissing’
Gafacci x Chefbanku – ‘KICKY’
Listen next: Fact Mix 863 – ELLES
