Myst Milano - Beyond the Uncanny Valley
Halocline Trance
Released August 25th, 2023
“I offer Beyond the Uncanny Valley as a working anthology of Black electronic music across generational, geographical, and genre lines. I thought a lot about staples of Black art across the world that can be traced back to Africa, and that link the diaspora regardless of where our people ended up and throughout all eras.”
It would be unjust to introduce this review in words other than that of Myst Milano’s themselves. This album is a complicated in such a way that is so tricky to put your finger on, but in the most magical and explorative way. It becomes rapidly apparent that the Toronto based artist wears many meritorious crowns including producer, DJ, and rapper to highlight a very few and, has a scholarly knowledge and confidence when it comes to the global underground music scene.
As a follow up to 2021’s Shapeshyfter, BTUV takes us through a personally curated journey through genre’s that I’m not sure I knew I needed to explore. I found some elements to be extraordinarily familiar to me, vaguely familiar to me – lost somewhere in the hazy memories of my youth, and further yet were some an absolute mystery that begged to be further investigated. To list every discoverable genre throughout this album would be to take away an opportunity/experience for the listener, however we are here for some highlights and so shall you receive.
The journey begins with a sharp and literal Welcome on the club banger of a track titled ‘Thirteen’. House vibes quickly kick into a sultry rap flow that drive you straight into the arms of the low-riding, dirty southern hip-hop flavored ‘Choose Summer (Gold Teeth and Bamboo)’. But wait – did I also pick up some Jungle influence as well? Ah yes, ‘No Sleep’ teases while ‘Pressure’ brings the full face of the UK Jungle/Dub Step scene accompanied by Myst’s in your face vocals and lyrics. ‘Just On Thing’ offers a tasting of neo R&B while ‘Woosh’ dials thing back into a pleasant sweetness.
Alas I feel as if I’ve given too much away, however I have confidence in that there is yet much to discover for a listener. Myst’s contributions to the Canadian Hip Hop and beyond are unequivocally challenging to the status quo and push the boundaries of where genres meet and intermingle. Their involvement in local communities and representation clearly play a major role in influencing the sound and feel, fuelling a causation of exemplary exploratory performance.
Album dropped on August 25, 2023 and be sure the check out the lemon yellow vinyl release currently available for pre-order.
- Frankie Undseth
