An iridescent hope; an imagined reality. ‘Unsleep’ is the debut collaboration between NYC’s Laenz & Tokyo luminary T5UMUT5UMU. As Laenz’s falsetto vocals dance in the reflections of crystalline club textures, the EP presents an experimental dreamscape melted from 2020’s charred blossom.
“Imagine a pair of chopsticks submerged into a glass of water. They appear to be bent by refraction of light. While veritably straight, this encounter gives credence to the mental image of curved chopsticks. At times, we process this temporality into a dream state, a safeguard against a dissipating world. Yet when transience is incongruous with our wakeful states, dreams, clung to for their impermanence, uncover a reality that is just as illusory. Whether a spectre or a dream, perceptual experience exists. As dreams and reality clash, they create frictional heat, dissolving a once tenuous boundary. The sensation that differentiates the two is an uncalibrated compass. While this blurred landscape sits through an eclipse, the future becomes backlit with promise, a contour of dissimulated simulation. The dream, rather than a speculative retreat, becomes the illumination. To unsleep is to undo is to unlearn, a chance at reversibility and a sense of mutable permanence.”
Laenz & T5UMUT5UMU
credits
released November 6, 2020
All songs written, performed and produced by Laenz and T5UMUT5UMU
All songs mastered by Tsui Honagi
Artwork & Visuals by Tabitha Swanson
Editing by Anthony Ko
From despair and grief to optimism, the subdued electronic compositions on the latest from Opus form a moving narrative. Bandcamp New & Notable Dec 3, 2023
All the tracks are great but Stepper is the standout for me! pounding syncopated kicks, rolling handdrums and playful sample work, dancefloor destroyer. Jack G.