Death's dynamic shroud is a, primarily vaporwave, musical project that was started by James Webster and Tech Honors in 2013 with their first record シェンムーOnline (produced by
Webster) being released in 2014. Soon after this release they would be joined
by Keith Rankin. Together they have as of the release of this article released
63 records (including mainline albums and mixtapes) + a number of eps and ,
many of which exist somewhere in the vaporwave sphere but also spanning a wide
variety of other genres, such as ambient, noise pop, glitch pop and many more.
With such a wide variety of different releases it can be hard to figure out
where to begin your journey into the death's dynamic shroud catalog, which is
exactly why i decided to make this article. I will give you the (in my opinion)
best introductory record, the essentials as well as some underappreciated
gems.
The Beginning
Live From Japan
Vaporwave
Plunderphonics Ambient
Live From Japan is a studio recording of songs performed on death's dynamic shrouds 2019 Neo Gaia Phantasy Japan tour and is what i consider to be the best introduction to the group. This record contains material from a variety of records spanning records from 2017 all the way back to シェンムーOnline / RPGウィンドウズ ビスタ from 2014. With this record you can get an overview of all their work in their discography up to that point and spread your wings from there, checking out the records from which you liked songs. Apart from that the record is also one of my most listened to dds records because of the great song selection and not sounding like a compilation but a well thought out record. What this record does not cover are the many stylistic developments and detours the band's sound would take, mostly starting in 2021, especially with their Bandcamp mixtape series. Nevertheless, I think this record is still the perfect starting point for anyone looking to get into the band as it's both a compilation of much of their best work and an amazing record by itself.
The Essentials
I'll Try Living Like This
Vaporwave Plunderphonics
Glitch Post-Industrial
I'll Try Living Like This is in my opinion not only the best record of dds's early vaporwave era but also the best thing they've ever done in general. It's the culmination of a lot of their vaporwave work from 2014, taking many of the disturbing and glitchy elements from 신세기 Evangelis, the first dds record Keith Rankin was involved in. What really elevates this record over 신세기 Evangelis is how tightly packed it is with memorable moments and how catchy some of the songs are despite the generally alien and glitchy nature of the record. Every single song on the record offers something that makes me want to return to it. The low pitched AOA sample on the opening track 너 땜에 맘이 맘이 맘이 맘이 괴로워요 (Because of you my heart, my heart, my heart, my heart is in torture) sets the tone beautifully, conveying the feeling of being stuck with a bittersweet memory that keeps replaying in your head, which makes sense given the loose break-up theme of the record. Loving is Easy features some of the most alien sample work with much of the track sounding like your playing device is malfunctioning, especially around the 3 minute mark, while also being one of the catchiest and most recognizable tracks on the record with the phrase 'Loving is easy' sampled from the 1986 track Soil by the Japanese artist Syoko repeated over and over again. After Loving is Easy the third track Somebody Home describes the aftermath of the break-up over one of the more relaxing instrumentals on the record, but the vocals are so heavily edited that they are barely understandable giving the whole track a very unsettling feeling like watching a drunk emotional person ramble about their problems. CD Player, Pt. III, one of the highlights of the record, is one of the more uplifting tracks starting with the words "Yo it's gonna be fine" before describing what appears to be a new romantic interest (thanks to the people that roughly translated the lyrics on genius). The track again samples AOA, this time the 2014 track 단발머리 (Short Hair), one of their vocalists, Mina, can also be seen or at least half seen on the cover of the record. The record then ends with 난 괜찮다고 또 웃으며 Good Bye (I'm alright, while a smile goodbye), which samples the vocals of Richard Jaques' tracks Living in the City and Diamond in the Sky again describing a more hopeful attitude towards life, ending the record with the words "Where do all the rainbows go? To somewhere i don't know Wherever it is i want to go" really showcasing the emotional arc of the record from the depressing and melancholic intro to the acceptance and sense of moving forward of the last track. I think that if you're at all interested in vaporwave music in general, or dds's music in particular you should give this one a listen, I think you won't regret, i've listened to it countless times and don't see myself stopping any time soon.
Darklife
Glitchpop Vapor
Post-Industrial Vaporwave Synthpop
Darklife sees dds building on the success and sonic developments that Keith Rankin explored on the 2021 dds record Faith In Persona and doing so in the best possible way. This record fully embraces the pop side of their music combining maximalist glitch pop with a wide range of influences from their usual vaporwave sound to electronic dance music, with the track After Third Heaven even featuring a drop that sounds like it's been taken straight from a full-on psychedelic trance song. Starting with Stay, the very beginning of the record already sounds like you're being launched into hyperspace with a voice repeating the phrase 'I'm getting better' over an instrumental that sounds like it's ready to explode at any moment finally doing so at around 1:30 into the track. From then on, although there are some more relaxing track like I Just Wanted To Know Love, the record starts throwing everything at you, starting with the rather straightforward, catchy and even kind of danceable Judgement Bolt. After Third Heaven is one of the hardest dds songs ever with the aforementioned psytrance-esque drop and a beautiful build up, sampling Final Fantasy VII in the outro. The atmospheric Before I Cool Off is another standout track on the album, which is quite reminiscent of Just To Be Needed from Faith In Persona. If you are looking to get into the new "poppy" era of dds releases Darklife is the best starting point being an incredible record full of fun and very different songs.
Virtual Utopia Experience
Vaporwave Folktronica
Ambient Neo-Psychedelica
On this record dds combine their vaporwave sound that they have established in their first year of existence with some beautiful folktronica. This record is really if you are looking for a more relaxed dds record that allows you to really sink into the atmosphere and just chill out, being considerably more low energy and less glitchy than a lot of their releases. The first track OPEN ME basically immediately shows you what you are in for as you are being greeted by just some beautiful strings and a slowed down voice sample being played over them. The ending of BOW & ARROW sounds like you have arrived at some sort of utopian fantasy resort and maybe you are already walking through its streets on PLAZA WINDS or buying something in the GIFT SHOP. You might also want to take a short trip to Mars on INTERMISSION TO MARS, one of the album's more glitchy and weird tracks, or visit the VIRTUAL JUNGLE. If not then maybe just listen to TTFN K? a beautiful cover (?) of Vera Lynn's We'll Meet Again and a career highlight for dds as a whole.
Midnight Tangerine
Art Pop Synthpop
Ambient Pop Utopian Virtual
Midnight Tangerine is a very different dds record, taking away most of the glitchy and vaporwave aspects of their music we are left with a set of 10 beautiful pop songs that feel just as the cover art and perhaps the album title would suggest. Everything on this record feels very floaty and light, only at certain times do we get an outbreak of energy. One of my all-time dds favourites Who I Say I Am opens the record beautifully with Tech Honors singing softly over a minimalistic instrumental that only builds slowly over the song's roughly 5 minute duration, until it almost seems to overpower Honors voice. The excellent The Bleeding Of The Sun, follows the same pattern starting with a very minimalist instrumental and adding elements as the song progresses ending in a loud crescendo. The song Twin Moons takes an even more minimalist approach consisting entirely out of a soft drumless instrumental and Honors vocals. So if you are looking for a more digestible more pop-oriented record that still keeps with some of the project's usual aesthetics, this might be the dds record for you.
Conclusion
And with that i want to conclude this little introduction. I want to give a small shout out to the person LilLiam whose Rate Your Music list
Deciphering death's dynamic shroud i used to when talking about the various samples on the records. I hope you found something that sounded interesting to you or wanted to make you check it out. If you did, and you enjoyed what you heard, be sure to check out their other material as well as there are pley of other dds records that are worth checking out and didn't make it into this article for one reason or another.
𝑺𝑬𝑬 𝒀𝑶𝑼 𝑺𝑷𝑨𝑪𝑬 𝑪𝑶𝑾𝑩𝑶𝒀...
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