Music for the DRIFTed Generation is the new ten-track record by the Electronic Dance Music artist L’0nde N0IRe. This is his sixth studio offering, an album he says is a ‘restless soundtrack for a new generation raised on speed, endless scrolling, instant gratification and constant stimulation’.
The project was released on SoundCloud. Listening to the album and taking in its visual world proves that L’0nde N0IRe is a consummate artist. Nearly every track is paired with detailed written lore, and each one comes alive with striking visual art.
Writing this review almost feels like cheating. L’0nde N0IRe has provided such rich context for his work that he’s essentially reviewed the album himself. In other words, he knows exactly what his sound is meant to convey, and he gives the listener almost everything they need to fully appreciate it. But since we’re here, let’s rock and roll straight into the music.
So, since L’0nde N0IRe has already done the heavy lifting of reviewing his own work, I’ll be taking a more impressionistic, offbeat route through the record. The artist describes their music as ‘ten compact tracks, bass house, trap, dance pop, phonk, UK garage and techno collide with fragmented Brazilian Portuguese vocals’.
The record opens with ‘Bate O Grave’, anchored by an unrelenting bass thump that summons a dark, energetic club atmosphere. It’s an immersive, ear-filling thump. The kick drum has that distinct dubstep quality – punishingly heavy, yet moving with a sluggish, lazy swagger. The kick is almost hypnotic. Layered with those teasing female vocals, you half expect Rihanna to drop in at any moment. This is exactly the kind of music that demands to be blasted through loudspeakers. I have no idea what ‘Bate O Grave’ actually translates to, but I do know two things: it isn’t English, and it sounds effortlessly cool.
Up next is ‘Montagem’. The track kicks off with glitchy female vocals, and while the kick drum remains the standout instrument, it’s now relentlessly fast. We are definitely not in dubstep territory anymore.
Then comes ‘Sobe’, another hypnotic track built on a slow, heavy kick – exactly my kind of music. The standout element here is a deep male vocal, matching the beat’s lazy energy. What’s amazing about the vocals, though, is that they actually loop the titles of other songs on the album.
‘Sem Parar’ seems to open with the same beat from ‘Sobe’ before quickly shifting gears, bringing back our deep-voiced male vocalist. While I love this style, the core beats do start to feel a bit repetitive here. However, that repetition actually works in the song’s favor – it forces you to tune your ears to the subtle underlying textures, like those delicate, string-like elements.
‘Ultima Chamada’ is up next, sticking closely to the formula established by the previous tracks. What sets it apart is that the vocals are almost non-existent. You can actually appreciate the track for this minimal approach; rather than forming full, audible words, the female vocals are reduced to sparse, atmospheric fragments.
Next up is ‘Obsessao’. It teases some delicate strings at the intro before being completely engulfed by L’0nde N0IRe’s signature heavy kicks. The vocals take a different approach here, drawing out sustained notes that provide a refreshing contrast to the last track and keep the album from feeling monotonous.
‘Sem Controle’ comes up next. Funny enough, it opens with the title of another track serving as its lyrics. There’s some energetic shouting and a deeply vibey element running through this one. The kick is mean and fast, matched by a great vocal pairing between a male and female. It’s a noticeable shift in sound – one that immediately brings to mind the old-school house music I used to listen to in the mid-2000s. This track alone is enough to start a party!
Next up is ‘Veneno’. The kick feels even more bass-heavy here, delivering a deeply thumpy groove. Vocally, the female singer sounds like she’s gearing up for something a bit more soulful and melodic this time around.
‘Sem Volta’ comes up next. The instrumentation here is deceptive; at times it pulls back and feels slow, only to subtly speed up again. This constant push-and-pull contrast creates a fantastic sense of tension.
‘Fin Da Linha’ brings the album to a close. Driven by sultry female vocals and a fast, though dialled-back kick drum, the track shifts focus. Without that overpowering low-end, the melodic string elements easily become the standout.
SCORE/Excellent: This project made me fall even more in love with L’0nde N0IRe’s music. I’m a sucker for thick beats, especially the slow, lazy ones that either make you think or make you want to dance. Because the vocals don’t try to overdo it, the focus remains squarely on the instrumentation. While this stylistic consistency is definitely trademark L’0nde N0IRe, one could argue that the music sticks a bit too closely to a formula. Either way, when I went to bed last night, I skipped my usual playlists and put this album on instead. That’s just how good it is!
[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]
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