In 2019, the Ontario-based experimental synth artist, CYB AYAZ, had a moment: his debut Extended Play, "I Carry Water," interjected himself into the universe of Instagram as a captivating enigma, where his eponymous leading single quickly blew up.
This year brings us his latest endeavor in recreating an equivalent rippling effect through his newest music. With "Destination"—a short chop of an album running at ten minutes—he's more utilitarian with his synth method and the use of adhesive tautologies as a miniature hook.
Suddenly he's more focused on crafting a sustainable legacy by developing his sound, and this new attitude engenders the best directory of short freestyles and the leading demos in his career. The micro stanzas on "Destination" are much more intrinsic, and the synth hooks more engaging. At the same time, his experimental cynosure radiates throughout his repetitious amalgamations of synths, his sometimes whispering or rapped vocals, and the industrial sounding electro beats backing it all. He mixes subtle bouts of brooding and spunky synths with warbling vocal resonances mirroring the enthusiasm found in LA Priest's songs like "Oino."
"Photo" is a proving model of this connection in the way its topline sounds like a respliced sample played over a synth. As a droning and circulation swirl introduces a puncturing sonic luster in the form of a smaller, more shrewd synth. The next song is an unequivocally pronounced Avangard electro-synth state of confusion, but in a way that provokes curiosity.
"BALL," finds use in its tedious regurgitation of a phrase that you obviously thought could never get stuck in your head; but you're wrong. "I got a ball, I got a ball, I got a ball," he reiterates over the entirety of the track before an invasive synth rings out like a telephone call from the terrestrials. His repetitious use of slogan intoning mantras might present as a deal-breaker for some, especially if they're looking for something I little more substance lyrically, but CYB AYAZ,—as if intuned with his audience—injects the next track, "No Smoke," with some wordiness for the mixes benefit. While his use of a magnetic hook in the form of drilling synths and falsettos still remains constant, the meaty sections of this halftime cut are the more vibed out and genuine snapshots of his character as an enigmatic rascal.
"Pharaoh Oz" sounds like the clandestine heartbeat of an approaching nomadic army returning from battle. The low-end marches and steadily oscillates underneath a more tantalizing manifestation of CYB AYAZ opposing performances. On one end, he uses whispering falsettos dissolving from the backdrops of our minds, and on the other, he sounds like what you would imagine an ancient Pharaoh would; raspy and ominous with weight behind his words.
The highlight of this experimental music synth-amalgamating engineer finds existential from in the shape of "Dunno/make this chop," a freestyle with the support of a cryptic auxiliary figure delivering smooth runs in the form of lyrical weaponry under the alias "CYB ECD." The two sink themselves into a fervent stance that presents standoffish and confident in most contemporary regards. The synth lead burns through to our core with a warm saturation that sounds rich as it rides over a 2 and 4 beat necessary punch and a skittering hi-hat that reminds us you of a typical water sprinkler; quenching thirst all day long.
"GYAUOTF" draws similarities from preceding tracks on the record like, "BALL," and "Die To Live," in the way it echoes a tenacious assortment of synths over a muted industrial beat, all while the Canadian repeats the vocal hook: "Get your ass up off the floor."—an expansion of the obvious acronym. But it quickly becomes evident that this cut was designed to play into the next song, "Long and Mcquade sold me this faulty synth twice," another freestyle filled with provocative and jarring imaginings of rage over the faulted manufacturing of his most memorable musical toolset: the synthesizer.
It's not unclear that CYB AYAZ takes his most enamoring form in his more upfront and postured stanza-like flows, rather than the repetitious whisperings of his head voice lingering in the backdrops of our memories. But probably most notable about the whole playthrough is that this young budding artist is committing to the direction his creative intuitions lead him on, and it's not yet lead him astray.
Hello CYB AYAZ and thanks for joining us at BuzzMusic to discuss your latest Record. What's been the most challenging part about putting his diverse record together?
The master took the longest and also hitting the notes. (MADARA)
Can you walk us through your songwriting process? Where does it start, and how does it develop from there?
First, I start with my oscillators, triangle and pulse are my favs. Next, I added noise and skewed the tri wave then moved octave up. The results were nice bells. The idea for Madara came from "la la la la la" and I was like yo Madara from nurto sounds like that. boom there the idea was, all I did was lay downbeat and freestyle about being a bad*ss.
Was there a centralized idea behind this record as a concept, or was this more simply something you patches together out of your own favorites from your catalog?
It was an idea about Madara and his energy. the patch was made by me on the uno synth.
What would you say has been the most rewarding venture in your career up to this point?
Playing at the PAC in my town. (Performing Arts Center)
What has been keeping you inspired throughout 2020?
Respect.