| Description: | Texas-born, Detroit-based Matthew Dear has made remarkable steps toward becoming one of America’s best techno artists. Between his stunning live performances and evolved DJ sets, Matthew has perked the ears of the industry’s best. Since signing to Ghostly/Spectral in 1999 as the labels’ first artist, Dear has been named Artist of the Year (2004) by noted magazine XLR8R, among other honors. His debut album under his birth name, Leave Luck to Heaven, was released in winter 2003 on Spectral Sound, quickly garnering positive reviews in such publications as Rolling Stone, Spin, NME, and the New York Times, while remaining on the CMJ RPM chart for over 13 weeks. Apart from his work for Spectral, Dear has recorded for labels Plus 8 and M-nus (as False) and Perlon (as Jabberjaw). After touring throughout 2004 and 2005, Dear now focuses his attention on his Audion guise, whose debut full-length is due in late 2005.
Amidst the maelstrom of aliases adopted by Detroit’s prodigious and prolific Matthew Dear, Audion is undoubtedly the grittiest; the singles "Kisses" and "The Pong" earned immense praise for their serrated approach to heavy 4/4 techno in 2004, bringing untamed synths and raucous beats into a devastating mélange. Providing some of Spectral’s hardest, dirtiest songs, the Suckfish LP is unleashed in fall 2005.
Alternately demonic and playful, the Audion sound rides a wave of raw sexual energy; the sense of tension and release, of lust and doom, and of sheer energy create a powerhouse of universal psychological and visceral elements. One gets the disconcerting sense of a conversation with a rambling, incoherent psychopath who could lash out at any moment. The threat is the intrigue. |
