Memory Empathy is a meditation on the past: how it shapes us and how we shape it in turn. Over 12 tracks, New Zealand-based producer DJ Birdbath draws from a varied palette of samples, both real and unreal, conjuring a colourful narrative patchwork. Some tracks are fragmented, with gurgling rhythms built from clipped vocals, like 'Another Day'. Others resemble deconstructed versions of sounds the producer grew up listening to in the UK. Take for example the breakbeat in the euphoric album opener 'Kitsch Memory' or the shoegaze-tinged vocals on 'Flames'.
While a sense of optimism radiates throughout the album — in particular on 'Leftover Igloo', 'Being There' and 'Last Time' — it’s the weird breakages and vaguely organic sounds which add to the complexity of the release and, in turn, make it feel more truthful. The imperfect mimesis is part of the appeal: with repeated listens Memory Empathy yields new surprises.
Memory Empathy by DJ Birdbath is out March 8 on Theory Therapy Recordings. Pre-orders available on Bandcamp.
We acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the traditional custodians of the Country upon which Theory Therapy and Low End Theorists was founded, and recognise that sovereignty has not been ceded. We pay our respects to Elders, past, present and emerging.
Written and produced by DJ Birdbath
Mastered by Ike Zwanikken
Artwork by Gary Hunter