Subterranean Music Index: #9. Asterr- Love Death Of The Universe

Year Of Release: 2024

Label: Self-released

Genres: Digital fusion, progressive electronic, chiptune, sequencer & tracker, jungle/drum and bass, ambient

Tracklist:

1. It All Started When The Birds Flew Away (2:52)

2. 88 Individuals Are Responsible For The Fall Of 8 Billion (4:24)

3. Lullaby For Disheartened Dreamers (3:44)

4. Abandoned Cityscapes Still Dot The Horizon Like Memories Of What Was feat. Bunny Mimi (4:53)

5. Encounter With What Remains (2:19)

6. Enter Sun (3:23)

7. The Last Witness Of The Moon (4:02)

8. Tomorrow Isn’t Coming, Savor That (Gymnopédie No. 1) (2:54)

9. LOVE DEATH OF THE UNIVERSE (5:35)

10. Putting A Weary World To Rest (4:58)

Well, it took me nearly a year after first finding out about it, but I have FINALLY listened to Asterr’s sophomore full length album, Love Death Of The Universe. And now I’m cursing myself for not listening to it sooner, because I have truly fallen in love with this little hidden gem recently. A magnificent progressive electronic/digital fusion masterpiece, Asterr has listed Anamanaguchi, bliss3three, C418, Disasterpeace, and Mort Garson as her primary influences on the creation of this album. And you know what? She definitely lives up to the lofty standards set by those legendary musicians.

Essentially, this is an entirely instrumental (with the exception of “Abandoned Cityscapes Still Dot The Horizon Like Memories Of What Once Was,” featuring bird calls, as well as a scream and some sobbing courtesy of electro-industrial pop artist, Bunny Mimi) concept album about the impending apocalypse and the complete destruction of the universe. As such, it has a gloomy desolate vibe, but not in a harsh manner. Instead, these tracks are more “cinematic,” so to speak. The album starts off slow and melancholic, before steadily growing more frantic, more intense, more desperate as the apocalypse looms ever closer, before the universe finally dies once and for all, and the music goes back to the more restrained mournful atmosphere of the beginning. Despite the heavy subject matter, I’d say that sorrow is a more accurate descriptor than fear overall, though there is some of that as well. This could have gone in a noisy, uncompromising direction, but instead, this album goes for a more sad kind of beauty, and has perfected the art of telling a coherent story without a single word being uttered.

Of course, this wouldn’t have been possible without the top-notch production by Asterr, who clearly knows her stuff. These tracks are grand, with atmospheric, often ambient soundscapes, tasty chiptune bleep bloop synths, and high energy breakbeats. Everything has also been bitcrushed, giving it just a little bit of lo-fi post-apocalyptic grit, while still retaining the brooding melodies. For being a progressive electronic album, these tracks aren’t actually very lengthy (compared to a lot of releases in the genre), but the lush, dense mix of sounds make these compositions feel epic in the truest sense of the word. This album is genuinely stunning, and a great artistic achievement for Asterr, who continues to produce great music, and will no doubt keep creating great music.

I’ll just say that if the end of the world occurs during my lifetime, I hope it sounds like this!

FIND IT HERE-

Bandcamp: https://asterr.bandcamp.com/album/love-death-of-the-universe

YouTube: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mwjTBdF9d9CHnepfXtbqDjS-nL_-ZQlik&si=pmkYP4C5bxLWMRd1 (playlist)

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0yWHZ1Z9uwuy7sB3L2D4op?si=XtR8JJS_SA2VpKTQkaJynQ

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/love-death-of-the-universe/1723111012

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/albums/B0CQY22G5T?marketplaceId=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Pandora: https://www.pandora.com/artist/asterr/love-death-of-the-universe/ALmtJf5jf9p6vnZ

Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/us/album/527934012

iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/artist/asterr-37479381/albums/love-death-of-the-universe-249404564/

Tidal: https://tidal.com/album/337066569

Vinyl Me, Please: https://www.vinylmeplease.com/blogs/artists/asterr-vinyl