Distance Dealer – Mind Dawns (Album – Blackjack Illuminist Records)
Genre/Influences: New-Wave, Dark-Wave.
Format: Digital, CD, Cassette.
Background/Info: Distance Dealer is a new (international) project between Blackjack Illuminist Records owner Alexander Donat (still involved with Vlimmer) and Thiago C. Desant (Phantoms vs. Fire). The German – Brazilian project released their debut work featuring ten songs.
Content: The project was introduced as a symbiosis between both artists and their respective projects. The New/Dark-Wave approach of Vlimmer is for sure a noticeable element of the composition. Alex Donat is also singing, but for this project he sings in English, vaguely evoking Robert Smith. Sound-wise the album also features elements of Shoegaze, the album being composed with synths and guitar.
+ + + : The 80s touch will definitely appeal for all lovers of New/Dark-Wave music. The band’s main force is their passionate way of singing. Alexander Donat really put all his soul in the songs, which perfectly matches with the melancholia of the music. I was impressed by the Dark-Wave/Pop “Mourned & Dead”, the more into guitar driven “A Lack Of What?” and the last track “Hit By A Brick”, which sounds like a true apotheosis to this work.
– – – : It all feels like this duo has potential, but can improve on some of the details in the songwriting and global production.
Conclusion: Distance Dealer confirms it’s possible for musicians living in different countries to release cool productions. This is a promising debut.
Best songs: “Hit By a Brick”, “A Lack Of What?”, “Mourned & Dead”.
Rate: 7½.
Artist: www.facebook.com/distancedealer
Label: www.facebook.com/Blackjack.Illuminist Read the news on ‘Mind Dawns’.
About Distance Dealer
Distance Dealer is a German and Brazilian duo made up of Alexander Donat and Thiago C. Desant. Donat runs Blackjack Illuminist Records from Königs Wusterhausen, Germany, and records as Vlimmer, a project whose Discogs entry runs from the numbered EPs "I" and "II" in 2015 through "Angststand" in 2018, "Pulmo" in 2020 and "Nebenkörper" in 2021. Desant records from Brazil as Phantoms vs. Fire, with "Swim" in 2018, "WLDLFE" and "My Mind As Your Amusement Park" in 2019, and "Modern Monsters I & II" in 2020.
The pairing was introduced earlier in 2021 with the two-track single "Slasher" / "Hit By A Brick". Blackjack Illuminist Records then issued the ten-track debut album "Mind Dawns" in 2021 as a download, a CDr in a handmade sleeve and a transparent orange cassette limited to fifteen copies. It remains the duo’s only full-length to date.
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