Auckland-based musician Corey Friedlander has had a long and impressive musical career to date. He has been the drummer/percussionist for some of the best bands to come out of Auckland for a long time. His resume includes stints with 8 Foot Sativa, City of Souls, The Mechanism, In Dread Response and Fornax Chemica. Now, he has stepped out from behind the kit to his newest project, the electronic, drum n bass and dubstep .
First single CTRL from his forthcoming album is the first statement from this new project and is an absolute beast. It grows from its tense, cinematic, and somewhat minimalistic beginnings into an intricate, body-rocking, floor-filling, banger. However, what makes this track really interesting is not the Skrillex-esque/dubstep-style wobble/wahs but the rhythmic intelligence Corey brings to the beats.
Locked in tight with a punchy synth bass, the drum tracks effortlessly propel the track along, providing the absolute bedrock of the track. I don’t know if has recorded this using programmed drums or has performed the drums via an electric kit and triggers, but regardless these beats sound like they could technically be possible to be played by a human, making them all the more compelling and exciting.
The production is solid. A great audio-balance between instruments and the use of distortion/white noise is strong enough to be impactful yet subtle enough to avoid being overpowering. Vocal samples are chopped up in interesting ways and are used sparingly enough to keep them interesting, which is hard to do with highly repetitive samples, such as those used in CTRL.
This is a solid first release. For fans of the genre, it will be a welcome addition. For newer fans of the genre, it may be a great starting place on your journey.
I look forward to hearing more from this new project, as I am sure has some very cool, more experimental tracks up his sleeve!
Corez has roots traced back to his beginnings in Heavy Metal, having gained recognition for being a drummer who had fast blazing double kicks, technical fills and a solid groove. He then moved into electronic music and with his influences including Concord Dawn, Black Sun Empire and some dubstep like Datsik, Skrillex, Zomboy and Benga, he was inspired to keep things emotive and heavy with his musical creations.