Album Review: Arcology - Emanator (2019)

Arcology is a Wellington-based DJ and producer, and his Bladerunner-inspired album Emanator was my first “new” album purchase of 2019, picked up via Bandcamp (link here) …

I never really got the whole Bladerunner thing. I understand the importance of the film, its significance as a genuine Sci-Fi masterpiece, and as an early example of Ridley Scott’s considerable directorial prowess. But personally, I never quite got it. Despite several attempts over the years to watch it all the way through, it always leaves me feeling a few brain cells short of the requisite package. Unable to fully appreciate what everyone else seems to be able to grasp at will. It was on the goggle box again over the most recent festive period, enjoyed by younger members of my family, but nope, nothing much has changed so far as I’m concerned. 

I mention all of this only because I worry that my inability to fully comprehend the film’s more cerebral charms will result in my own failure to give the intent and execution of Arcology’s work sufficient credit. 

So I can only tell you what I hear as a non-Sci-Fi-loving mortal, and as a consumer of sound: at ten tracks, and just over an hour in length, “concept” album or otherwise, Arcology’s Emanator is a meticulously crafted journey into the netherworlds of analogue synthpop and acid-based techno. A hybrid crossover of sorts. One that draws the listener in with all manner of electronic wizardry and finely-honed home production techniques. 

Best consumed as a whole, as opposed to listening to selected tracks in isolation, Emanator builds nicely to a mid-album peak, with the double whammy of the acid-drenched title track (a real highpoint at track five) and the cinematic ‘Automatic Joy Override’ (at track six) seemingly working in tandem to create a sense that Arcology may have had twin centrepieces in mind. For my money, they’re the best tracks on the album, pushed hard by the closer, ‘Was a Day’. 

There’s a brief spoken narrative for all tracks near the end of each one, or at fade out, which obviously reference themes from the film. For the most part - for all of the reasons outlined above - these tend to be a little lost on me, but it does add atmosphere and an element of profundity or some context to each work. 

A couple of days after downloading the album, I received an email from the artist with a couple of high bit rate .wav files of tracks which weren’t on the album. That was a nice touch, I thought, and although Arcology isn’t as active in live (or club) settings as he once was, I believe he still has plans to play live, and I’ll certainly be making an extra effort to check him out when the opportunity next arises.