ᐃᐧᐦᑎᑯᐤ subsumes the best bits of IDM, chillwave, and psychedelia to form a new splinter genre all its own.
Several online sources tell me that the word wihtikow is Cree for “a greedy person” and also refers to “a cursed grotesque super-human figure who was also a cannibal,” as per legend. Neither of these definitions is immediately congruent with the work of Edmonton-based electronic composer wihtikow, an artist whose musical generosity has resulted in a string of three full-length, fully realized low-key ambient electronic records in the last fourteen months or so. The latest, ᐃᐧᐦᑎᑯᐤ (“wihtikow” in Cree syllabics), is an evocative, thirty-minute tone poem blessed by wihtikow’s uncanny ear for the unusual and unexpected.
Snares, kicks, and toms aren’t just for keeping time, as evidenced in the skittering delights of “going east,” an arrhythmic pleasure that sounds like it was etched directly onto a vintage wax cylinder. It’s countered by “erikson,” a shorter composition but one filled with atmosphere and intensity. In the sound collage of opener “ocihci-kiskisiw”, you get the sense that musical structure is more or less a suggestion for wihtikow. For every song that flirts with rhythm and melody like “footprints end,” there’s an amorphous track like “ahkwacisakahikan,” whose steady drone feels like a balm for weary souls.
“stories my father told” is the closest ᐃᐧᐦᑎᑯᐤ comes to sounding genre-specific. There’s an element of 80s toy keyboard preprogramming that reminds me of something Casio might have classified as “spooky hip-hop demo.” At first, it felt a little out of place against the gothic, industrial vibe of “You Are the Land,” but it’s moments like “Stories My Father Told” that give ᐃᐧᐦᑎᑯᐤ dimension and shape. wihtikow’s vintage synths, odd samples, and hazy psychedelic vibes bring depth to their work that leaves me pining for more. Building beyond the usual extended ambient exploration of sound, ᐃᐧᐦᑎᑯᐤ subsumes the best bits of IDM, chillwave, and psychedelia to form a new splinter genre all its own.
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