Although crafted from a singular artist’s mind, Legacy feels personal for those that allow themselves the experience. Opening with ’96,’ the project’s journey evokes a contrasting range of emotions while curiosity, hope, fear, destruction, and longing play the foundation to its depth. This weighted series of events acts with the intent for beginning-to-end play.

Levitate expands on the driving inspiration and timing for the release of Legacy.

I had just done so many one-off projects and EPs in the past, at that point, about 1.5 years ago, that was really the only idea that I wanted to chomp into. With the skillset and subtle world-building, I tried to do the year prior, there was kind of a thought like, “fuck this, I want to make something as close to a movie as I can.”

Legacy feels very elite in the sense that every moment of passing detail finds support in another. All finite characters exist with purpose, allowing this to live as perhaps the most cohesive body of work music fans will enjoy this year.

Stealing the attention of wandering listeners, Levitate opens up about the early creative process on how Legacy came to fruition.

There’s a lot of things I pull from. Tales From The Loop, District 9, and Ghost In The Shell are some that come to mind. The process of imagining the storyline came after I wrote: ‘Among Trees.’ I knew I wanted to do an A/V album, but when I wrote that, it sounded so much like a robotic thing in the woods to me. I just leaned into that idea and thought the story out one day while taking a walk.

Through the cautious application of color and texture, Legacy‘s visual entities play flawlessly into its corresponding audio. A narrative between a man and his grandson acts as a transition between different scenes, forcing unsuspecting listeners to confront an extensive range of emotions, unforgivingly. From the subtle glisten of an A.I.’s cold exterior to the skeleton of a lonely home’s fiery demise, Legacy toys with the human senses.

Levitate explains his direction behind the project’s intent for fans’ interpretations.

Ideally escapism that isn’t so far they can’t take a moment to reflect on their own life. The concept of this thing is definitely fantasy. Still, I feel there’s a kind of art out there that is so driven by arbitrary feelings on things like euphoria and happiness and even forced sadness that I wanted to avoid. I want people to watch/listen to the project and be fully immersed but still have space to let the underlying music allow them to self reflect and really feel something genuine. Because under the fantasy of this thing, the music really is just so fucking genuine to me. Whether or not I achieved that, I don’t know, but that was the goal.

Of course, Levitate’s use of thought-provoking texture bleeds into his auditory work. Although coupled with its visual immersion, all ten records of Legacy thrive individually. The design and placement of sound exceed any expectations one may confront Levitate’s musicality with. The rich execution of harmony, haunting lyrical compositions, and crisp detailing allow Legacy the honorable title of living as Levitate’s best work thus far.

Levitate offers further insight into the creative venture behind his album. Why an audiovisual project, rather than a single body of sound?

Honestly, just the skillset. In the earlier days of all this, there were certain artists that allowed me to know that kind of thing was possible; Former, Deadmau5, Feed Me, and actually my homie Alter. These were people I saw creating both, and I was just so inspired by the idea of songs, not just being songs, but being a piece of something bigger. That, to me, just hits every bullet point of how I want to express art. When it came to this point in my life, if I was going to do an album, I knew I could do more than just write music, and if I could do visuals, then what story would I tell? Furthermore, what story pairs best with synthesized music and synthesized visuals.

And (because we’re dealing with Levitate), the experience extends beyond both sound and visual design. The artist crafted a website, replicating the weapons lab responsible for manufacturing the featured Artificial Intelligence. Listeners can discover more about the robotic entity’s creation with 360 viewability. Complete with Legacy merchandise, the site offers fans a boundless glimpse into the mind and capabilities of music’s best-kept gem, Levitate.

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Touching first on the video, ’96’ sets the scene with a slow dirt-road drive through rural landscapes. Soft, natural light cautiously passes between the untouched forestry’s denseness as a white van travels with an unknown, yet apparent, purpose. As fresh rainwater beads down the vehicle’s glass surfaces, we catch a brief glimpse of the traveling passengers. Casually positioned in the van’s rear space, artificial intelligence sits still in an upright and relaxed stance, caged in the metal framework. The remaining two passengers stationed in the front are organic of contrasting generations: One man and one child. 3 minutes and 23 seconds in duration, the brief video invites us to physically feel the emotional weight and silent anxiety of the travelers’ journey.

Concerning the musical composition of ’96’, the track mimics the impending grief and anticipation of its corresponding visual experience. ’96’ leads with full-bodied harmonizations as performed by Seattle based vocalist, Kody Ryan, bearing a tale of longing and togetherness. Although seemingly simplistic, ’96’ provides a sensory experience for listeners. The opening lyrics are as follows:

Take a hold of my hand and walk with me.
I’ll carry you home. Just be patient now.
So take a hold of my hand because I believe.
I won’t let you down now if you have faith in me.
If you have faith in me.

We caught up with Levitate for further insight into his forthcoming project’s creation and crafting ’96’.

This song means so much to me. Really every song means something to me, but in this case, for a much different reason. I started about two and a half years ago; it was about the passing of my father when I was really young. At the time, I knew fundamentally that I still had growing to do as an artist, and frankly, I hated the idea of some fuckin EDM artist writing a song about my father, even if that fuckin EDM artist was me. But at this point, I’m just an artist, that’s all it is, and when working on this album, I revisited this song knowing there wouldn’t be a better way to open up my next album. The vibe fit. It sounded like a tone was being set. So after I realized how perfect this was in context, I reached out to an artist in Seattle who I have really been enjoying, Kody Ryan, and I asked that he do the vocal performance I don’t have the ability to do. Furthermore, I knew he would nail it better than I can imagine, and he definitely did. I went home and, in the following week, I wrapped the song. When it was finished, I had myself a good cry and called it a day, with no fucking doubt on my mind that’s how I was going to open up my album.”  – Levitate

The strategic placement of digital sounds with organic textures in both audio and visual presentations beg listeners to confront even their own inner afflictions fully. The artist’s unique process and approach to emotion-filled design feel devastatingly personal. From the artist’s earliest inspirations to the flawless execution of ’96’, the introductory track alongside its visual exploration sets a weighted tone for the project’s remainder. Art in it’s rawest core manifests itself in the form of Levitate’s Legacy.

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Accompanying the collaborative track is an exceptionally illustrated promotional video and artwork fashioned from the ingeniously diverse mind that is Levitate. He elaborates on the creative process from which the track was birthed.

“Omar (Kumarion) and I trade music, WIPS, ideas and things like that. When he showed me the WIP for ‘Can’t Escape’ I think that was the first time in a long time, I heard something that made me drop everything I had going on and dive into a project. I love that kind of sound and vibe, it was too dope. Something about the way that industrial percussion mixed with the bass and vocals was just right, not aggro-blown out like an arbitrary sounding banger, it was a song that I had to finish. Not at all because I didn’t think he could but because it resonated with me so deeply, and I’m so glad he let me do so. Also, the process of making the fulltime DnB part at the end was extremely fun as well, we just sat together and hashed it out, everything worked as smooth as butter, creatively.” – Levitate

Sitting at just over four-and-half minutes in duration, the introductory portion of ‘Can’t Escape’ successfully channels an ominously-toned aesthetic with the use of Levitate’s haunting vocal performance. An eerie elucidation of one’s insatiable need for escape, the distorted lyrical arrangement maintains a sinister experience throughout the track’s entirety. Unconfined by conventional song structure, ‘Can’t Escape,’ operates richly and fluidly before advancing into Kumarion’s alluring interpretation of drum and bass arrangement.

“This track makes you feel like you’re stuck in a boiler room and you can’t escape. The cymbals and the white noise in the background sound like pipes letting off exhausts. It kind of really sets the theme. Levitate did a fine job of representing that in his artwork as well. I think we nailed the vibe we were trying to achieve.” – Kumarion

To say the track is a seamless depiction of both Levitate and Kumarion’s technical skillsets would be an understatement. It is melodic, grim, sentimental, and lush all at the same time. Needless to say, ‘Can’t Escape’ further solidifies the notion that one does not need to remain within the bounds of an excessively-organized framework to invent an artistically compelling piece.

Words by Sydney Verbrugge

The post PREMIERE: LEViT∆TE & Kumarion Showcase Artistry On ‘Can’t Escape’ appeared first on FUXWITHIT.

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