DMVU
Tools For Those Who’ve Lost Their Way
April 8, 2022
Dome of Doom
Denver-based keyboardist and electronic producer DMVU presents his 11th release, Tools For Those Who’ve Lost Their Way. The 5-track EP arrives on digital streaming platforms April 8th with Dome of Doom. Translating the scope and intention of the record, a tool is something that can help someone who is lost. While separate, they serve their individual functions, but together as a group they can help someone find their way back home. Tools For Those Who’ve Lost Their Way is this reflection point both inner and outward, building a musical space that points towards life changing experiences finding ways through the fog.
Across Tools For Those Who’ve Lost Their Way, DMVU posits the idea that any artistic body of work can be a set of tools. Metaphorically functioning as guideposts in our personal journeys to find ourselves and unlock more clarity within. One of the main reference points for DMVU was a US Forest Service guide, plotted out musically with rich metaphors of being lost in the woods and using a compass, sextant, star chart, lantern, etc. to navigate out of the literal woods. The physical tools used to help a nascent traveler navigate take on new symbology through the track names. DMVU strived for specific meaning, referencing the idea that music and art are essentially our personal emotional toolboxes which we all use to navigate out of our most testing of times.
Unlike prior DMVU releases, Tools For Those Who’ve Lost Their Way was produced entirely on the computer and MIDI keyboard setup. No additional live instrumentation was added. Even with the simple toolkit used to produce the songs, this body of work feels like a leap forward for DMVU technically and conceptually. The storyline is more abridged, the music blending together melodic elements heard across his debut and sophomore LPs Two Pairs of Eyes, Gazing Only at Each Other and Praise Be Delusion or, The Ripple. The heavier production stylings that he is traditionally known for in the deep dubstep world also merge into the foundation, blended as a true amalgamation of his full catalog.
DMVU on this new approach of past blends into a new singular form, "Yeah, so actually for many years I have had lots of my friends and management and stuff like that, always try to push me to make some sort of blend of my heavy music with the melodic elements of the pretty music I make. For some reason it always felt a little out of touch for me, I liked it kind of black and white. One or the other. And I really don’t know what came over me, I just wrote this kind of pretty but spooky synth melody ("Compass") and after adding the other elements of the track it came out kind of heavier than I had meant it to. But I liked it. So I said to myself I’m going to try to make a couple more of these."
credits
released April 8, 2022
All songs produced and mixed by DMVU
Mastered by Daddy Kev
Photography by Frankie Lee
supported by 29 fans who also own “Tools For Those Who've Lost Their Way”
I can't stop listening to this album. It's so good. So many different amazing songs. Yheti can turn such small amounts of time into massive complex journeys. Signals from above grew on me over time a great deal and I think that is always a special and mysterious thing. voidhaven
supported by 28 fans who also own “Tools For Those Who've Lost Their Way”
Completely atypical style and genre under the direction of several producers putting their talents and skills offering some different dubstep, bass & hiphop music giving a breathtaking result. Thank you Charlesthefirst & your friends for this awesome & amazing trip. jef37