A.M. Architect, longtime friends, and collaborators Diego Chavez and Daniel Stanush, perform while generative visuals react to the audio they’re creating.
“We use a program called TouchDesigner, so it’s all in real-time,” says Chavez, whose myriad roles include digital media artist, technologist, and producer. That technological curiosity, and that bold desire to merge disciplines, animates their third and finest full-length album Avenir, out this Friday, February 7th.
The album showcases the duo’s multifaceted approach to electronic production, with Stanush’s musical training and melodic sensibility guiding Chavez’s knack for soundscapes and sonic manipulation. The result is a rich tapestry of pulsating beats, grainy loops, cinematic sensibilities, and charged vocal samples that cull from sources as varied as old crime movies and obscure country singers.
You can hear their distinct style of living and breathing in the final single and visualizer for “Eli,” out today. The track tactfully evolves from its ambient sheen into an uncoiling beat that’s dotted with distinct vocals and moody production flourishes.
“When we were working on the songs that would make up Avenir, ‘Eli’ was one of the first songs that really uncovered the vibe that we were going for on this album. We worked to create dense ambient synth and delicate guitar lines that would float over a driving beat, feeling like the song is wrapping around the listener,” they describe. “Then we worked with our friend Jed Craddock to record vocals, and the takes you hear on the song are some of his very first attempts and ideas for the track. These recordings were like capturing lighting in a bottle; we tried a few subsequent sessions with Jed but kept coming back to these original takes, his vocals were heartfelt and spontaneous and, we thought, were a perfect compliment to the instrumentation and vibe of ‘Eli.'”
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