Liar
̸
Biografía
- Head of Tessier-Ashpool Recordings. Polymath.Liar first shows up as a faint ping on the bass music sonar in the summer of 2011, with the Farver Music release of his remix of Averos’ still-underrated gem “Stay Together”. Premiering his early “esotech” sound – a proprietary blend of wraithlike vocals, majestic progression, impeccable production and schizoid sound design singlehandedly propelling melodic techno further –, it didn’t garner much attention, but would serve as a springboard for the innovations of his debut EP, “Undance”, that would be released on Farver in the spring of 2012. Newly incorporating dub elements, pitch-shift minimalism and subtle trance inclinations, and ramping up the ethereal aesthetic, it would secure an XLR8R feature, and garner support from the likes of Marry Anne Hobbs (on her XFM radio show) and The xx/Jamie xx. The spring and summer of 2012 also see Liar debuting as a DJ, going on to serve as opening act for everyone from the likes of Lorn, Sun Glitters and Dual Shaman to the likes of Dub FX, Zeds Dead, Hostage, Canblaster and Sam Tiba, before hitting the festival circuit and then moving on to headlining events (which would find him supplying demand as far as Mumbai, India in 2013). It’s during this time that he develops his signature sets – anything from 90 minutes to 240 minutes of genre-obsolete, BPM-obsolete, versatile cutting-edge wayfaring through everything from a futuristic take on Liar’s musical history, to a history of the future of music. All performed with surgical precision, rare wit and an infectiously engaging stage presence. Results may vary. Autumn 2012 sees the release of “Strange Love”, Liar’s first full-length offering, on cult Canadian imprint Infinite Machine. A sidestep from his predilection from concept pieces, “Strange Love” is a deeply personal opus, wherein there is a continuity of hypnotic poignancy and pathos, while the sound deftly transitions through any and all facets of modern bass music: from the bedroom post-trap of Benzolovers, through the oblique, operatic rhythmic innovations of “Nymph Hunter” and “Fucktoy”, the wistful, poppy garage-house of “Night Swim”, the revamped esotech of “Giulia”, the trancey future garage of “Andreea Dava” and “Bruised Knee”, to the nostalgic power-balladry of “Mamaia Vice”. A digital bestseller, “Strange Love” goes on to accrue a fair amount of critical accolades, making a few Top 10 Albums of the Year lists, all the while resulting in a burst of international support. From Moscow to LA, from the UK to the aforementioned Bombay, Liar’s fanbase is by no means immense, but it is indeed all-pervasive. Late 2012 and 2013 finds Liar in an incessant flurry of output: countless compilation tracks, bootlegs, freebies, remixes for almost every other artist on Infinite Machine (a label that he is, by now, a silent partner in) and official remixes for high-profile acts such as Active Child, Editors, Foals, JMSN, Mikky Ekko, Ruby Goe, S O H N, and, most importantly, The xx, joining the ranks of Dark Sky, Dixon, Four Tet, John Talabot, Lunice, Pearson Sound, Nosaj Thing, Sasha and Synkro as Young Turks-vetted artists to have tackled remix duties for the stellar band. Once more, genres are nothing more than aesthetic afterthoughts, with his new work touching upon everything from warehouse techno and bassline house, to cerebral trap and juke, neo grime, post-ballroom, new takes on his own proprietary esotech… essentially everything but the kitchen sink, all the while having everything sound cohesive and profusely Liar. From this controlled chaos of creativity, three club-oriented EPs emerge throughout 2013: “Mas”, a triad of overzealous bootlegs of 90s guilty pleasures; “Alpha”, a machismo-fueled exercise in exemplifying the only habitable future for trap; and “Que”, a grim quartet of alien rave bangers, with the latter receiving props from the likes of My Nu Leng, B. Traits, B-Ju, Photek, Jimmy Edgar, Addison Groove, James Zabiela, and DJ Zinc. As 2013 comes to a close, Liar delivers, courtesy of Symbols Recordings, a long-promised foray into his truth – “Spirewards”, a massive, and massively-diverse concept LP, revolving around an eponymous story that was unveiled to him, in tiny bite-sized chunks, over the course of many years of dreaming… a puzzle epic that was only recently completed. As such, the album is collected from Liar’s closely-guarded best works throughout the entire span of his burgeoning career. And as one chapter ends, with pomp and circumstance, another begins with equal aplomb. Mid 2014, the continuum is solidified with a prequel EP, “Cybertime” - a return to form, and a return to Infinite Machine. Liar’s first vinyl opus, it consists of 6 tracks that revisit, re-affirm, and reform all of his strengths showcased so far: from visceral sound design, through ingenious musicality, to a near precognitive sense of musical futurism. Cohesively tying up all loose ends while hinting at new ideas, paths and obsessions (junglist revivalism, 90’s obscura, and indiscriminate ferocity), it serves as a bridge between old and new, and a hopefully as a timeless milestone in the development of Liar’s sound. And the new starts off with 2014’s subsequent summer scorcher “Scorpio” – an ode to the past, a testament of the future, and commentary on both. Conceptually driven and titled by his ascendant zodiac sign, it’s a probing, passionate, powerful and sometimes precarious precis of Liar’s entire range, only this time tailored entirely for the club - drawing from ballroom, grime, rave hardcore and Detroit electro, it garners support from the likes of Bok Bok, Gang Fatale, and SPF 666, and cements Liar’s reputation with positive reception and coverage from the likes of Resident Advisor and Mixmag. Thusly invigorated, Liar proceeds to start his own boutique label, Tessier-Ashpool Recordings, in the fall of 2014. The non-fictional audio R&D arm of fictional Gibsonian dynastic megacorp Tessier-Ashpool S.A., operating according to proprietary “Machine Music” and “Avant-Club” doctrines (technical rigor & precision, synergistic structure, and a sci-fi heritage), releases 14 standout EPs by veterans and newcomers alike – regularly charting high, regularly being cosigned by many a household name, regularly gracing the airwaves via BBC Radio 1 and Rinse FM, regularly incurring critical acclaim. It is within this creative whirlwind that Liar launches and perfects his Optimix™ series, taking his approach to remixing so far as to essentially produce highly-cyberized versions of originals, with the dual role of both vanguard club fare and examplars of the Tessier-Ashpool Recordings sound – stopping only to briefly, but poignantly touch on his formative junglist years with root record “Genesis Dubs”. With all this said, and an introductory foray into his augmented techno side-project New Romancer on the way, one would be well-served to watch out for Liar in 2016.̸"Undance" [FARV004, Farver Music, 2012] "Strange Love" [IM013, Infinite Machine, 2012] "Mas" [IMSL6, Infinite Machine, 2013] "Alpha" [FOLD_EP5, Origami Sound, 2013] "Que" [IM020, Infinite Machine, 2013] "Spirewards" [SMBLP002, Symbols Recordings, 2013] "Cybertime" [IM023, Infinite Machine, 2014] "Scorpio" [IM025, Infinite Machine, 2014] "Genesis Dubs" [IM030, Infinite Machine, 2015]
Discografía seleccionada