New Orleans’ “techno-spiritual” producer Chris Farstad (aka Food Pyramid, for our purposes here, 555) takes us on a nebulous journey through some uncharted nebulae with his sophomore record under the moniker. It’s called Nine Gates, which I guess must be some kind of a reference to the religious Nine Gates I learned about from such films as Polanski’s disastrous (yet somehow addicting… seriously I must have seen this movie, what… nine times?) “The Ninth Gate.” So then, Farstad, intrepid pilot of our wormhole-warped vessel, are we headed straight into the bowels of Hell here or what? Sounds quite the opposite I’d say, synths streaking across the stars, propelled by a pounding heartbeat of rhythmic holograms, the perfect harmonic medium between digital and analog sounds, synchronized to achieve those withering heights of heavenly bliss and those humbling, lows, all deep and introspective like the best of ambivalent ambience. For sure there are terrestrial touchstones we can reference here, namely Mouse on Mars’ bubbly, glitchy dub-inflections circa Iaora Tahiti. And like those titans before him, Farstad’s topographic trajectory through textures and dynamics are certainly what keeps this electronic jungle of sound so consistently engaging throughout its impressive girth. But the best parts are those straight and planar grooves like you’ll hear secondly with “Som Hassel,” a track that grabs you by the hand and just don’t let go, packed with syncopations and sounds, claustrophobic by intelligent design, but also entirely open, free and flowing. Ah, the wonders or warp factor nine. Deep breath, inhaled and held, don’t look down. In fact, close your eyes. Clench them tight, bite your cheek, feel the wind whip through your hair follicles, and you’ll make it out all right.
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