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LP
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PE 003LP
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Surrender is the debut full length from DJ, producer, and songwriter Endgame. Stepping out for the first time as a vocalist, and lyricist, Surrender is his most ambitious and vulnerable work to date; a striking statement of intent, with moments of beauty and brutality. Endgame has carved an iconoclastic niche in club culture. Breaking into the scene as co-founder of the legendary collective Bala Club, and resident of the radical club-night Endless. Whilst continuing almost a decade hosting his infamous NTS radio show (and now label) Precious Metals, he has forged a path against the tide of formulaic club music. A visionary DJ and producer, Surrender sees Endgame continue this trajectory, with a project that both amplifies the ferocious club constructions he's known for, whilst making space to open up wounded memories and with somber unfeigned requiems. Surrender is a deeply personal record, about loss and finding meaning in despair. Death is a prevailing theme, with the passing of his father a totemic subject. The recollection of his father's torturous final moments leaves him to mournfully contemplate temporality. Using this sense of anguish, he blurs reality -- creating a world where angels and demons are among us in a decaying cityscape; akin to the work of Todd McFarlane. The opener "Faithless", propels you into this world, with the slow build of industrial precision amidst the somber build of harsh melodic synths. You descend deeper into this vision with "Barbed Heart", featuring a defining vocal from Yayoyanoh, as 808s and skittering hi-hats ricochet off one another beneath his bass driven vocal. "No Heroes" continues the journey into the unknown with a chaotic rush of acidic riffs, pounding percussion, and a reference to the brutalist anthem from hardcore punk band Converge. "Requiem" acts as the turning point of the record as Endgame steps into the foreground as a vocalist. As the name suggests, this lament is a somber reflection of grief; its minimalist instrumental allows Endgame's haunted verse to rise into the foreground, like an apparition amidst the smoke in the depths of a dimly lit club. The dark clouds fade into the distance in "Exhumed", as the elegant melancholic vocal of Bala Club affiliate and gifted vocalist Organ Tapes reflects off Endgame's sanguine verses bringing hope into the heartfelt instrumental filled with melodic flourishes and bass-bin rattling subs. The thematic haze thickens in "Abyss", as the pulsating and doom-laden instrumental interweaves with Endgame's sepulchral vocal. Blood red vinyl.
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