Electronic alternative is an increasingly popular genre of music; no two electronic artists sound the same. Being an extremely unique genre brings about the space for creativity and C Duncan takes advantage of this. While keeping his personalized sound, C Duncan explores new avenues of imagination and takes his audience into another dimension with his newest album, “The Midnight Sun”. Listening to the album is almost like a trip into the popular Netflix series “Stranger Things” with the accompaniment and talent of human voice.
“The Midnight Sun” is not an album to be quoted. The use of human voice is integrated into the sounds that make each song, but it would be close to impossible to understand what was being sung. The lyrics do not stand out so much either, rather every aspect of an individual song is the focus. This is not to say that the use of human voice is not extremely impressive. C Duncan’s voice on “The Midnight Sun” is not one single voice, but many layers of voices on top of each other. A structured arrangement of multiple voices singing as one makes for a new sound not often heard.
Instrumentation is a heavy component of what makes C Duncan’s “The Midnight Sun” so uniquely perplexing. While mostly electronic sounds entertain the album, it is refreshingly traditional and new in one package. From the use of vibrato to the many different dynamics and pitches, C Duncan’s use of voices in each song sounds extremely similar to an organ. This gives the album a traditional, almost Deja-vu tone. The counterpart to this traditional sound is the strikingly new, electronic vibe. C Duncan relies heavily upon synthesizers and different sounds from a keyboard which gives each song the underlapping base of sound to build upon. These two aspects of style which C Duncan works within come together in an odd way to bring about an interesting tone for the album.
In his 2016 album, C Duncan plays with the idea of entering a new dimension, one he has referred to so affectionately as the “Twilight Zone.” It cannot be denied that C Duncan stuck to this idea throughout the entire album and made it his own. While relying heavily upon artificial sounds and upon human voice, “The Midnight Sun” is focused primarily on the music and not on the message. Although singing is a large part of what makes C Duncan so unique in his newest album, lyrics are not a primary focus for the listener. C Duncan’s creativity and musicianship is the “elephant in the room” for his newest album. To be able to mix such varying tones and sound like he does is a feat, therefore it cannot be ignored. By picking a theme that rides on the coattails of the “Stranger Things” soundtrack and the idea of “The Twilight Zone” and integrating his own unique twist, C Duncan has created an artistically individual array of songs in his newest album, “Midnight Sun.”
Rating: W-P-G
Tracks to listen to: “Nothing More,” “Wanted to Want It Too,” & “The Midnight Sun”
RIYL: Gwenno, Evangelist, Cristobal And The Sea
