An Interview with Us3r
An album release from Us3r brings out an absolute soiree of edgy and almost invasive tonalities in the form of a clash between industrial, alternative pop, cinematic soundscape, and all-around sound sculpting from beginning to end.
I think one of my favorite things about the DOPAM1NE album is how the artist can create such engulfing and fiery sounds using percussion synths, guitars, and more.
It's been a long time since I've heard a record that shows so much diversity with its base still an electronic and industrial music along with that rock backbone, and this album has an atmosphere that it creates. Once you step into this atmosphere, that's it. You were there, and you don't want to leave it.
The album is a complete escape, and if you listen to it from start to finish, then you're in for a wild ride because some of these sounds are rambunctious, fiery, wild, and showcase a vivacious approach to songwriting, arrangement, and powerhouse-level energy.
But the main thing is that this record is catchy. There is a pop underbelly to a lot of these songs to go along with all that edginess, and the blending of color and edge throughout this record is absolutely amazing.
It is experimental to the maximum and still stays within a certain kind of box because it has an aesthetic that comes along with it.
Let's start with the first track, 'Perfect Day", which actually comes in with chiptune-style synthesizers and starts to expand into classic, almost post-punk feels with more synth pad-style keys, and it just opens up from there.
This is a great track to introduce the record with because, although it is outside the box, so is the rest of the album, and that is a main staple that you hear throughout this release.
That song is followed by one called "I want it all", which showcases more of this pop approach. There is still a lot of grit and crunch in the synthesizers used here, which is genius; however, the vocals have this pop overtone, which I absolutely loved.
So, this project blends a lot of that pop element in with all of this sort of dark, edgy approach, and it works wonders.
By the time you get to the third and title track, you realize that you are in for something different. You begin to expect the unexpected.
Tracks like "Hatesong", (which is absolutely one of my favorites on the record), showcase that combination damn near perfectly. It's got a heavy-handed beat that feels like it comes from something industrial rock, the sensor beefy and thick creating a lot of layered feel to the track, and the vocals have this flowing sort of approach with harmonies the entire time.
This is a unique style because it's built with fewer boundaries than what you may be used to.
This is an album that absolutely bends and mends genres at free will, and it's probably my favorite thing about it aside from the personality that comes along with the entire thing.
This album has character. These songs come from an authentic place, and when you listen to the lyrics, you'll understand.
This gives the record tons of that character and personality, which stays pretty strong throughout the full album.
I can tell you right now that this is a record you don't want to just listen to a few songs from. This is an album you listen to all the way through from start to finish, and in one shot.
Listening to a few tracks may give you a gist or an idea of what you might expect from some of the other songs on the album; however, it will not give you anywhere near the full spectrum of what the release has to offer as a whole.
There is a ton going on. There are layers, textures, surprises around the corners, attitudes, swagger, and just this energy that pulls you in.
This is, hands down, one of the easiest records to get engulfed in that I've heard in quite some time, and to be engulfed in a record again is something special to me.
I come from a time where you would hear a song on the radio, go and buy the album and then you just sit there and listen to the entire thing for months on end.
You would get engulfed in the album, and it is 100% refreshing to hear a record that feels that way again.
Yes, some singles stand on their own two feet very well, like "Hatesong", just as an example, but this is meant to be heard in full.
These songs also tell stories at times, and they even feel interconnective in different ways, so this can be portrayed as a concept record to certain listeners.
The whole thing was constructed with a pure love for the craft of producing music, and I absolutely fell for it right from the start.
It's a synth-driven, character-thriving, impactful, cinematic, and vast album that hits just right.
With the release of such a well-woven record, we wanted to chat with Us3r to find out where this all came from and what might be coming up next for the project.
Here's what happened.
TSWS: Let's start with the DOPAM1NE record! This was a massive release with edgy tones, driving synths, and some experimental and cinematic attributes! Where did this album come from?
over the last year, I have been writing this album. Each song is part of the theme of the addictive nature of everything in our lives - love, hate, sex, internet, social media, etc. Just everything around us feels so overwhelming and addictive. So each song is some aspect of that. Lyrically, it is a commentary on our modern day society, and then sonically i wanted the whole album to just be soaked with ear candy and shifting moods - I wanted it to feel like the peaks and valleys of our addictive world we're living in.
TSWS: When did this all start for you as an artist?
My parents are musicians for a living, and so I have been exploring music in various forms since I was just a little kid. When I went to college, I paused music for a while so I could focus on getting my life together, but then when I relocated to Seattle in 2017, I felt free to restart again. Once I was here, I had met some people in the synth music scene and I had become interested in it. It was at this time I created US3R - and its been 7-8 years since then now, and I have 5 albums out. I'm pretty proud that I've been able to create my own unique voice in this project.
TSWS: I am hearing several approaches to this! Who are some of your biggest musical influences?
Because my family are professional musicians, I've been swimming in a deep see of music since I was so young. Literally I have so many musical interests. Like... when I was learning to play guitar, I was a massive fan of Metallica, Hendrix, Nirvana, etc. When I was learning to play the drums, I was into Tool, 311, Steely Dan, and Rage..Synth wise, I'm a massive fan of NIN, Justice, Daft Punk. Harmonically and melodically, I am a massive fan of Brian Wilson (RIP), Stevie Wonder, and classical music like Debussy and Chopin. When it comes to vintage music and all the vibes, I am absolutely in love with that super dry sounding classic rock music from the 60s and 70s. When it comes to hip hop, I love Wu Tang, Blackstarr, Biggie, etc. When it comes to soul and R&B, I love Lelah Hathaway, Stevie, Lauryn Hill, etc. And then I love music like blue grass like Alison Krauss and jass like Diana Krall. I really have so many influences and if you listen closely to my music, you can hear a little of all of this in there.
TSWS: What instruments are you performing on this release? Is it just you doing everything?
I did everything. I have played in many bands in my lifetime and i'm a multi-instrumentalist. So everything, from the programmed synths, to the basses, guitars, votals, and drumming, that's all me. I even produced and mixed the whole album myself too. So this is just a labor of love for me.
Are you doing live performances at all?Yes actually - in Seattle I have been fortunate to play with a ton of bands, both local and touring. I have played something like 40-50 shows as US3R now - and I even did a small North American tour back before the pandemic. So I actually have really built up a nice little repertoire for live performances and really enjoy it.
TSWS: This was an intense record! Did it take you long to finish?
I spent about 1 year on it. I wrote things in little snippets late at night after hours because I have a day job working in tech. After weeks or months go by, I end up with like 50-100 little short pieces of recorded music. And then whatever I'm living and feeling at the time, I just pull some of those musical recordings out and write to them. Eventually once I have enough material to make an album, I go back and I rewrite certain things so that sonically and thematically they all fit better together.
TSWS: Did you do this at a home set up?
Yes - there have been projects in the past where I recorded in a professional studio somewhere in Seattle. But now I really have assembled a very respectable setup of professional preamps, hardware synths, nice guitars and basses, and fancy microphones and stuff. So I really have all the tools I need to make the music I want to make, and the best part is that I'm not being charged by the hour.<see attached photo of my studio>
TSWS: Who is in your headphones right now?
Lately I've been listening to Magic City Hippies, Kacey Musgraves, Anderson Paak, Justice, Tame Impala, Radiohead. Just lots of high quality productions where the artists seem to have their own vbe and their own voice. I love things that seem to transcend genre - because genre seems like bullshit to me. Like... who does Radiohead sound like? They sound like themselves. and that's how it should be - artists should cultivate a unique voice - not bow down to tastemakers.
TSWS: Now that this is out, what is next for you as an artist?
I have so many different musical projects. I create darksynth music under the name MANAKIN, I create indie grunge under Wolf Pet, I create acoustic music as Saint Moss, I make 8bit music as Rapid Tap. I think that after this album, I want to push the boundaries further with these other projects and perhaps even write some things that crosses over between them, as a sortof of collaboration across their vibes. That'd be fun. :)
TSWS: What would you say people can expect from this record?
If you want to feel like you're looking into a mirror that is soaked in digital acid, that's filled with moments of pure ear candy, excitement, horror, ups and downs, then this record is for you. Its like if Justice, Blank mirror, and sour patch kids had a musical baby.
TSWS: Before we go, what would you like to express to fans of the music?
The thing that is the most amazing and profound to me as an artist is that I can write a song about something personal to me in my own life, and somehow, other people in other parts of the world have totally different lived experiences, and my music and lyrics can speak to them and put words to whatever they're feeling in their lives. I just want people to know, if you listen to my music, and you really feel something from what I've created, then I feel a deep appreciation for you. It is my favorite thing in the world to know that people are living their lives and my music is a sort of soundtrack for them. It's just so satisfying to be part of other people's life experiences in our short time on this earth.
