What are we t a l k i n g a b o u t ?
Midnight Mirage by Device Operator is a highly intellectual, psychedelic trip down memory lane.
This album is very special.
I'm proud to call Device Operator a friend of mine. We met a while back when we were both getting into making vaporwave, and I've loved every album they've put out since. However, Midnight Mirage really sticks out to me. There are bits and pieces of all kinds of genres from progressive rock to funk to a variety of IDM/EDM. I've likely listened to this album 5 times already. It's incredibly solid. It's a fantastic musical collage that is so cohesive and complete.
Device Operator shared with me some of their goals for the album, however the main one that truly stood out was: create something complex that fell between vaporwave and synthwave...but more odd and experimental than standard synthwave.
DO uses some stellar synth clones exclusively from the Roland and Arturia collections on the album (primarily the DX7, Roland XV-5080, Prophet V, Casio CZ, OB-Xa and the Synclavier V).
On the album, DO is very strategic at combining samples and synthesizers.
An example is right at the top of the album. The first guitar section is a sample from Splice, but the guitar countermelodies are from the Roland XV-5080. This hybrid approach is quite unique and bold.
Another example of the duality of the instrumentation on the album is within the saxophone lines. In Mirror Shrine, the sax part is a sample, but the sax part on Sun Stage was played by a session musician! This presence of musical doppelgängers is so elusive and really helps to paint a full musical image in the mind.
Device Operator takes a lot of inspiration from artists like Com Truise and FM Skyline (check out my review of Illuminations) as well as a lot of dubstep and hyperpop. Their eclectic listening tendencies are what bring such illustrative compositions to the album IMO.
One fun fact about the album: some of the tracks were designed with an eventual rapper feature in mind. Unfortunately, due to some scheduling issues, the rap sections were never added. However, that is definitely a very intriguing idea to keep in mind when listening to the album.
With all that said, let's get to the play-by-play!
(((p l a y BY p l a y)))
We start off with the title track Mirror Mirage.
It begins with those aforementioned guitar samples that take me back to a Steve Morse album I had on cassette. More instruments begin to decorate the scene.
The implied chord progression in my mind is:
F#m E and Badd9.
However, I could be totally wrong! There's no actual bass part in the song, so it's very hard to tell. However, if I had to lay down a bass part, I would play: F#, E and B.
Around the one minute mark, a very insistent drum kit arrives on the scene and kicks the song into gear! Without the bass around, we are drawn a very open and transparent canvas filled with possibility. The drums get the listener in line.
The lack of bass in the song really does allow for a lot of space and optimism. It's a great way to start an album: with possibility. As the first track ends, we think, "What will come next?"
We then move onto Lost Horizon.
Bouncy ping-pong synths dance around, dripping in delay. Some bells are thrown in the mix.
But then...THE BASS. The album has a main character, and it is this MIDI slap bass. I struggled with how amazing this was. Device Operator is so incredibly tactful and tasteful with their use of slap bass as a functional instrument across the entire album. A song will start out ethereal and warm and turn menacing and evil the second that transient slaps the listener in the face.
Then, there's a THEREMIN SOLO! What is happening? Magic is happening. There's sound all over. I wore headphones during my second listen through, and I was hearing hard-panned, bitcrushed guiros, all kinds of crazy things!
Later on in the song, we hear a bit of a musical interlude with this implied chord progression:
Dm Fmaj7 Cadd9 Aadd9
Again, that is likely not the exact progression. However, if I were to lay down a pad, I would play those chords.
The best part is the rabid, vampiric dubstep that infects the song with wobble bass and triplets at 2:25 then fades away in 5 seconds. The dubstep feel immediately passes, but the glitchy uncertainty remains and haunts us for the remainder of the tune.
Oh! And the song ends with almost the exact same fading synth as Reading Rainbow!
Next up is Sun Stage.
Right off the bat, we take a turn. It feels like we're listening to King Crimson's Red album. Then that signature slap bass stomps in and throws us into the depths of Hell (in a good way).
We're being pulled in so many directions. We hear romance emanating from the saxophone. The slap bass is taunting us. The pads are making us want to cry. It's just so good to listen to (I hate the word good). But, that's just what it is...it's GOOD to listen to. It just feels good. The music is making the listener emote. Device Operator took the time to create this and make us feel this way. It's truly special.
The following track is titled Angel Palace.
It begins with some bouncy electric pianos and a choir of angels, even a harp. The drums dip in and out. A little here. A little there.
1:12, something happens. That sound vampire returns and turns the song evil. It's very little. Major to minor. One new instrument. The song just turns on us. One white lie. Once that other side is revealed, we can't help but feel a little on edge for the rest of the song.
The next tune is Radiant Gate.
Baroque-style ornamented melodies start bouncing around the room with delay tails. We are introduced to another bass part that seems to be a bit dangerous.
In the middle of the song, we hear what sounds like a bunch of radio interference. It feels like we are in a control room receiving messages from outer space.
This song really moves around and transforms. It gets us emotionally ready for a beast of a song called Velvet Meadow.
We begin with some electric pianos and clean MIDI guitar. It sounds like a Windows 95 computer game soundtrack...but something's not quite right.
There are little dissonances in the piano here and there.
Sometimes the MIDI sax is a bit too argumentative.
The electric piano tries to pull us somewhere else.
Spastic hi-hats insist the song speed up, but the song refuses.
At 2:05, don't lose the beat. Tap your foot. It's pulled for ten seconds, and we're left with just off-beat accentuations.
When the drums reappear, it seems that DO has turned the beat around, however, they just made us focus somewhere else for a bit. This musical magic track makes Velvet Meadow my favorite track on the album.
Bubble begins with some barred percussion and sitar I believe. I love DO's choice of MIDI patches. On numerous occasions throughout the album, we will feel like we're listening to a 90's computer game soundtrack, but then the song will start slapping hard.
Bubble is a great example of this. Once that 808 drops, all those bouncy vocalese and synth parts are just ornamenting, they are no longer the feature. Here is another example of the bass taking center stage.
The next track on the album is titled Ancient Tablet.
We start with a mysterious plucky synth with some spread out pads.
A distorted percussion part and dubstep style bass bass come in. This adds layers of standard EDM, but the entire song is still coated in that nostalgia from those Roland patches.
Gem Terrace throws down some slightly out of tune synth parts that simulate warped vinyl. The entire track is wide open and fairly sparse. It's a great middle track to glue the album together.
It's also ornamented with joyful, out-of-left field miniature tom fills that keep us on the edge of our seats.
This next song is incredibly emotional. It is called Mirror Shrine. When it begins, I think Twin Peaks. I think X-Files. I think Buffy.
It begins with some beautiful pads that turn on you within seconds. At the top of the song, they're holding your hand over the edge of a cliff, and at 0:22, they let go.
Through the entire song, you slowly plummet further and further into nothingness.
There are soprano sax runs. Synths come swishing by.
It quite literally sounds like your life is flashing before your eyes as you fall.
I hear joy. I hear embarrassment. I hear jealousy. I hear anxiety. I hear victory. I hear failure.
Mirror Shrine is a real gem.
Love Me is one of the only tracks on the album that features actual lyrics, mainly, "Do you love me?"
This song begins fairly tame...but then a breakbeat gets off the leash and the song is sent in a totally different direction.
If you like to go jogging, stretch from 0:00 to 0:50, then take a one minute jog at 0:51. It works perfectly.
This song hard cuts right into Blush. This song is incredibly strong. The bass is not a slap bass on this one. It's very smooth and often time is doubled up a few octaves on some synth leads. This allows for great cohesion.
The album ends with the song Once. This song features an augmented chord, and it makes for a very courageous end-of-album choice. The chords stack and stack. The included sampled R&B vocals really give the song a troubled feel. It feels like something has gone wrong. The album is wounded. It does not seem the wound can be mended.
I just adore this ending. It makes me feel. So. Many. Things.
B O T T O M L I N E . E X E
Midnight Mirage by Device Operator is an adventurous and incredibly well-executed album of highly intelligent and emotional musical composition. And it's available on cassette. You should buy it. I did.
C:\Where?
The LP was self-released by Business Casual on their Bandcamp page. You can purchase the album at (https://music.businesscasual.biz/album/midnight-mirage).
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