Everything ends. Eventually. The good and the bad, the pain and the
pleasure. This is a pillar of our very existence: mortality defines us, fulfils
us, makes us feel, think, and be.
Mortality, infinity and everything in-between are also what drive Peter
Spilles, the ingenious mastermind of PROJECT PITCHFORK. For over 30
years he has been studying the human condition and the metaphysics of
the cosmos, the magic that binds us, the fear that stalks us. With
"Akkretion" and "Fragment", he released the first two parts of an interstellar
trilogy in 2018 - albums that illuminated the dark electronic universe of
PROJECT PITCHFORK like never before. After a long silence, the final act
of this cosmic symphony is upon us: "Elysium". And the wait was worth
every second. "Elysium" is nothing less than the soundtrack to the stars,
transported to earth and translated into huge cathedrals of dark electronic
sound.
Nothing has been the same since the first two chapters of the ultimate
PROJECT PITCHFORK triptych were released. For Peter Spilles himself,
for each of us, indeed for the whole world. Pandemic, war, and a planet
increasingly groaning under billions of bacteria slowly bleeding it dry.
Therefore, the Peter Spilles we meet in "Elysium" is - and has to be - a very
different Peter Spilles. Even if the final act of his trilogy promises the
crossing to the island of the blessed, the journey there is fraught with
danger. To say the very least, PROJECT PITCHFORK sound scarred on
this album, worn down by the trials we've all endured over the past five
years. Despite that world-weariness, the music remains intense, urgent,
and uplifting. In fact, it seems as if Peter Spilles has weaponised the
experience, channeling it all into the sheer power of "Elysium". This is pure
catharsis in electronic form, a glowing monolith which effortlessly
transcends time and space, pulsating through towering gothic anthems for
a broken world.
Of course, after almost 20 albums, Peter Spilles understands both the
game and theory. He knows better than anyone what defines the DNA of
PROJECT PITCHFORK, a distinctive sound instantly recognisable,
gloriously unique. A glimpse into his innermost being has always been a
thing of terrible beauty but now it grows ever more beguiling.
In these new beautifully crafted songs, the things which hold us together
inside and drive us apart outside collide in a pitch-black explosion of hard
beats, iridescent melodies and the unique cosmic aura that only he can
achieve. "Elysium" dares us to escape, travel the stars, be weightless for a
moment and forget all that binds us to the ground. And that doesn't mean
gravity alone.
More than ever, his songs are anthems of resistance, of rebellion. Against
stupidity, against apathy, against the destruction of the planet we call home.
Against the eternal void that awaits us all. Everything ends. So far, so final.
Nihilism notwithstanding, this is the battle cry to make every second of our
lives count. Peter Spilles shows us how: With "Elysium", he not only
delivers the furious, rousing conclusion to a great trilogy, but perhaps the
magnum opus of a stellar, truly idiosyncratic career. Dark electronic music
doesn't get much better than this.
