Space-Ta reconnects with lost genres in this new album
Everyone's vision of a far-off future differs, but we all have similar ideas. Self-driving levitating cars? Possible—we’ve got the first half down already. Will it be fantastically futuristic like The Jetsons or a desolate wasteland like we saw in Dune? Well, lucky are those who can mull over the possibilities because multi-genre artist Space-Ta already lives in it. The mysterious artist lives in a world where a handful of music genres have gone extinct thanks to the Time Council. Space-Ta attempts to reconnect with these lost sounds through their music through their debut album, Flight of the White Rekusasu.
An elusive icon in the music scene, Space-Ta shifts between time traveling, philanthropy and music. Driven by the need to revive banned music genres, the artist goes back in time to explore these influences and, in the process, rediscovers himself. Space-Ta also collaborated with artists of our time and world, recruiting the help of guest producers and sound engineers, such as Jay Gapasin, Francis De Veyra and more, for the project. The album art also features the work Elevator F (2006) by Japanese artist Aya Takano.
Initially teased last November through an intimate listening party, the Flight of the White Rekusasu was accompanied by a visual spectacle. Now, however, the rest of the present world can finally listen to the multi-genre artist’s sonic creations.
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The album kicks off with Safe, a hypnotic techno track that sets the tone for the entire album. It fully embodies Space-Ta’s electronic explorations, previously heard as minor influences incorporated with earthy instrumentations. This time around, however, Space-Ta’s experimentations take full form as DID I DID IT RYT and Fuck with the Bass stand in the same thread, anchored by Space-Ta’s hypnotic vocals and addictive rhythms.
However, Space-Ta travels back to the 70s when retro-futurism involved generous synthesized blips and distortions. Kaninong Kama ‘To, a club hit from 1976, also brings back the artist’s knack for earthy instrumentals coupled with distorted flourishes and warped sound effects. The funky Down You Go, touted as a 1979-era “avant-garde disco track,” is a perfect snapshot of what the 70s thought the future sounded like. Finally, Mother sits right in the transition of retro-futurism and 80s-era new-wave music, an addictive bop, as the artist sings about how “mothers know best.” These tracks offer an effective flashback, showing us that Space-Ta has done more than reconnect with lost genres—they have fully enveloped themselves in them.
Despite the heavy-hitting club bangers, Space-Ta also takes time to slow it down. Breathe is a haunting track as the artist sings about sitting through the pain and that the only way out is through. Slow and melancholic, Space-Ta encourages us to “fight until we’re better.” Flight of the White Rekusasu finishes with Headbanging at the lobby of the HEARTBREAK HOTEL. Reminiscent of Space-Ta’s earlier works, Sa Piling Mo and You Look So Fuckin’ Empty Without Me, the song sounds like its title: cathartic and freeing. With electric guitar sounds leading the instrumental, it offers a liberating end to the album.
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All in all, Space-Ta’s Flight of the White Rekusasu takes us on a sonic trip through time in eight tracks clocking in a little over 30 minutes. From the 70s-era blending of disco and futurist visions to addictive electro-pop bangers, this debut album effectively shows off the fruits of Space-Ta’s efforts to keep the music alive one way or another.
Stream “Flight of the White Rekusasu” on Spotify.
Special thanks GNN Entertainment
Art Matthew Ian Fetalver
