We need to talk about death’s dynamic shroud (there’s a sentence I never thought I’d be writing down ever). I’ve been aware of the existence of this somewhat spellbinding electronic trio from the United States for a long while now – some of their songs were close to be featured on Jam of Today in the past – but I’ve never given the group the attention they might perhaps deserve. Not long ago, at work, I stumbled upon their videography as featured on the electronic indie label 100% Electronica, who have also signed similar artists such as George Clanton, Neggy Gemmy, and Vitesse X on their roster. My two main (musical) standouts by death’s dynamic shroud were songs ‘Messe de E-102’ – which strongly reminded me of some of my favourite songs by Oneohtrix Point Never, incorporated with a strangely bombastic breakdown and a touch of A.G. Cook – and ‘Who I Say I Am’, something completely different from what I expected by this group, namely an indietronica leaning song which could even be compared to the likes of Cut Copy and !!!.

death’s dynamic shroud has always been a group of which I know I could probably take a massive liking to but for some reason, it hasn’t quite clicked yet between the two of us. A bit of research into this group tells me my two current finds are only the tip of the (insanely large) iceberg. RateYourMusic, an archival website I frequently visit to find music geek’s reviews and more in-depth information of artists and albums, is known to be the home of some of the web’s biggest part-time music nerds with quite the snobby taste and I quickly learn that death’s dynamic shroud is a strongly beloved group on this part of the internet. The Ohio trio excels in a niche genre called vaporwave: a sample-based and synth-heavy electronic music genre, very popular in internet culture in general. Many of the – hold on tight – 73 (!!!) albums death’s dynamic shroud has put out, get a high rating on this website, many even ending up in end-of-year top 100 album lists. Yelp. If I ever want to properly get into this group, I should really make a move.

Opening this massive can of worms kind of reminds me of when I started getting into anime: there’s so much to discover, you just don’t really know where to start. Will you dive into that highly rated series with over 500 episodes, or would you rather pick a niche and under-the-radar show consisting of only 2 short seasons? This is the question I have to face if I ever decide whether to get fully into death’s dynamic shroud or not. As of now, I will start turning ‘Who I Say I Am’ and ‘Messe de E-102’ into the first two songs I properly like by this act. Who knows what’s to come in the future, once the group has released another 45 albums. Perhaps I will ever find the motivation and strength to tackle this Gintama of internet music.