MACHINA X - The Art Of Letting Go

Review by Jake Griffiths of Electrodrome FM

Denial. Anger. Bargaining. Depression. Acceptance. How we process our grief might be understood but it remains one of the most powerful and destructive emotional forces that human-beings encounter. MACHINA X’s EP release The Art of Letting Go goes deep into the feelings that drive us when we give up something we love.

In musical release terms at least, the Anglo-Burmese duo have had a comparatively quiet 2021, interrupted by events in Myanmar while they worked on an ‘all or nothing’ 2021 release. The Art of Letting Go is a 6-track EP, charting the emotional journey of loss.

The first thing you notice about this record is how far the Machina X sound has come since previous releases. Never ones to shy away from trying new things, the duo have always been genre-neutral, having expressed their music in forms from drum and bass to electro and even folk. Gone are the samples, multi-tempo experiments and different drum sounds. Here the sound may mutate across the tracks in speed and sometimes style, but it is fully consistent and has a real identity. The Machina X of late 2021 is a strong mix of crisp percussion, driving basslines and Annie’s beautiful, wrought vocals. 

Intro track Prelude sets the tone perfectly before second track Fragile immediately lets you know what this record is intended to sound like - rolling, driving basslines that explode into a widescreen chorus with strings and sweeps that move all across the mix. It’s a gorgeous track and echoes the feel of Silent Now which comes later in the record.

Machina X released the track Belong To The Night as a single before the EP release. Sitting right in the middle of the record, it’s a heart-wrenching ballad with a dreamy, emotional vocal reminiscent of Kate Bush. It’s rightly been featured multiple times by the BBC Introducing team and is a pivotal moment in the EP, capturing so many of the main themes in one place. 

This release brings Machina X a full step forward from being musical experimenters into having a sound of their own - pulling in elements of songwriting, electro and synthpop into something that emotionally resonates. The duo say it was a hard, draining record to make, both in terms of what was happening around them but also the subject matter. It was worth it.

For more Machina X, visit machina-x.bandcamp.com