REALMS, an enigmatic trio from Denver, CO consisting of Digital Vagabond, Ceiva, and khU, recently put out their debut EP, Ninth Moon, via Street Ritual, giving listeners a snippet of what they have been working on over the last four years. Friends for longer, this group has been making moves as individuals, as well as through various shared projects like the inimitable TOWR Media for nearly a decade, however REALMS represents their latest musical endeavor and comes at a perfect time, as the lines blur between media formats and new technology allows for some truly groundbreaking means to deliver it.
With Ninth Moon, we get new music as a catalyst that leads to something bigger, and points to this new reality, as the guys have created full visual accompaniments for each release and the subsequent performances to follow. Flexing many muscles in their respective departments, each release (or set for that matter) can be seen as a complete body of work, including not only the audio and visual elements, but a story behind it. Speaking with the team, it’s clear that this is not just a priority, but a way of seeing things through a new lens, in order to create a “system with infinite creativity inside of it”.
According to Khu, “We’re trying to find a new avenue to present music and art that’s more cohesive, with storytelling and visual elements to supplement everything”. This is evident in their creative process, letting imagery and ideas guide their songwriting more than MIDI notes or the latest VST, a big departure from the “sample pack” era we live in today and a refreshing take on production in general, as the larger narrative is often missed when we focus so much on perfect snares or getting JUST the right amount of compression.
That’s not to say Ninth Moon isn’t polished; in fact it’s some of the “cleanest” music I’ve heard recently, which is no small feat considering the variety of sounds and processing they infuse into each tune. With a “no rules” approach to their craft, REALMS has found a formula that doesn’t outline how to start a track, so much as how to FINISH a track, which any artist knows is the real kicker. Through a process of passing the music back and forth via MANY discord sessions, each song is built, mangled, repaired, crushed, and stretched in order to reach its final shape, each striking a balance as the sum of its collective parts. As Digital Vagabond states, “These tracks have ripened on the vine”, and been put through a gauntlet of live shows and real-world applications to arrive where they are today, standing up to trends (or outright ignoring them) along the way.
Kicking off with the title track, “Ninth Moon”, we are immediately taken to a new realm (pun FULLY intended) that briefly welcomes us with an eerie ambience, before dropping into what feels like dubstep, but exists as something else entirely, lurking along at 120 BPM as it engulfs itself in a mist of psychedelia and smoke. This theme is expanded upon in “Skrongus Collector” (which automatically wins “Best Song Title of the Year”) with a similar pace and slightly more skrongus, which does in fact help with many things, in life and in music… Jokes aside, this one throws around some serious weight, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all to hear it at clubs and festivals across the US this summer, with its thumpy 808’s and otherworldly sound design. Wrapping things up, “Time Architects” serves as a perfect finale, concise enough to make its point, yet good enough to leave us wanting more. Utilizing a simple but catchy melody, over its crunchy and clipped low-end, this track demonstrates REALMS’ ability to meld different influences together and find a balance that’s not only interesting, but begins to create new worlds altogether, navigating territory not often explored in today’s musical landscape.
Check out the full EP below, and support the project by heading over to Street Ritual’s Bandcamp page to purchase high quality WAV or AIFF files!
“Skrongus Collector” via Street Ritual Soundcloud
FULL EP via Street Ritual Bandcamp
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