Experimental Scottish electronic artist Iain Campbell is Kid Adrift. The title track ‘Oxytocin’ is a seething electro ode to the chemicals that create love. It’s built on rises and falls of keys and bizarre electro effects with some clean, pretty vocals sliding in to create a sound that is simultaneously placid yet also toe-curlingly edgy.
Second track ‘Crash Therapy’ is slightly darker with some heavy beats created by a drum machine. The rhythmic effects added with the mechanical motions of his voice evoke moments of darkwave electro pioneers The Faint. The addition of some female vocals gives the song sporadic pop moments.
Third track ‘Static’ is a manic and disordered instrumental piece that opens with a piano before the menacingly repetitive synths begin. The erratic time sequences and haunting vocal samples give this track a paranoid quality. This track would be the perfect accompaniment to a chase sequence in a bizarre sci-fi film, such as that by the likes of Cronenberg or David Lynch.
‘Oxytocin’ is a strange and eclectic electro offering that really demonstrates the way that music made primarily using electronic effects can simulate and evoke different emotional states and moods. Kid Adrift’s sound is unique and slightly disturbing.
