«‘Wicked selection of rhythm and texture of madness. Vibrations’. An attempt to walk the line between visceral and cerebral. Embracing both minimalism and a disregard for the formalities of technological limits, at times it’s a brutal sonic wallop, at others a playful exploration of the oddities of rhythm. Call it what you will, it’s crazy.» So defines David Kaplowitz, an American currently based in London, UK, who has a subtlety to the definition of his artistic concept, as we rarely see it.
Better known as DKAPZ, he returns to present his fifth release, «5. Rational Fears», to be released in September. It’s the next chapter in DKAPZ’s abstract exploration of a wide range of electronic music genres, taking notes from experimental club, broken techno, free jazz, bass, and IDM. It follows last year’s Rule By Monsters EP, supported on BBC 6Music by both Mary Anne Hobbs and Tom Ravenscroft (also supported by the likes of Beatrice Dillon, Zoë McPherson, Om Unit, Jaye Ward, A. Fruit, Elena Columbi, and Ara-U among many others).
And as we usually say when faced with art that defines itself through its artist, there is nothing left to do but present it: “Writing about music, to paraphrase Frank Zappa, is often akin to dancing about architecture. Facing anything as abstracted as DKAPZ’s latest offering, 5. Rational Fears – where beats twitch and strain against electronic shards and sparkles – can leave the wordsmith more than a little stumped. Put simply: this is music to be ideally felt, rather than dryly deconstructed.”
“For this particular writer, having faced the same task a few times now, luckily context is everything. Previous work by the London-based American, David Kaplowitz, has always contained large swathes of ire at a world drifting into darkness. But these latest tracks seem, well… more measured, fully-realised, and somehow more thought-through. And that makes them more powerful.”
The reason for this? Let DKAPZ explain himself: ‘I’ve by necessity had to partially shunt aside my feelings on some global issues – the ongoing horror of the genocide in Palestine and humankind’s seeming default state of ongoing bloodshed was quite literally tearing me apart inside. I do wonder where that’s all gone and what it’s plotting, but for now I’ll embrace some semblance of sanity, and perhaps that tension between attempting to take on more than one can bear with the consequences of burying those feelings comes through in this release’.”
“In truth, DKAPZ’s approach, while not exactly mellowing, has shifted to a more minimal palette. The beats here are more thoroughly foregrounded, as though the emotional resonance being projected can only be summed up by relentless, shifting patterns, repeating and reinforcing the effect. And the details within these shifting patterns proudly wear their influences, from free jazz to straight old skool DnB, ambient, club textures and bass music. Genre-fluid but focused. Their intricacy can be startling, from the minimal techno banger THIRTEEN to the polyrhythms of Chronophobia to the gritty drunken swagger of Intermission (Fear of Intermissions).”
“This is the sound of an artist maturing. Again, in his own words, the creative process involves: ‘a continuation of a sort of conscious dream state where the creation occurs almost outside of my control’.”
“And it seems that trusting in his own methodology has certainly paid off. Since DKAPZ’s last release, he’s been regularly played on the BBC, and endorsement has come in spades (the list of plaudits coming from names including Mary Anne Hobbs, Tom Ravenscroft, Beatrice Dillon, Zoë McPherson, Om Unit, Jaye Ward, A. Fruit, Elena Columbi, and Ara-U). It seems extremely likely that 5. Rational Fears will only lead to much more…”
“5. Rational Fears has the confidence and coherence to, at times, offer a more restrained pace; leaving a little more space within its template of nagging rhythmic pulses that gradually grow into maelstroms – displays of the power of a beat made political. And make no mistake, this music is most decidedly still political: metamorphosed into digital shapes that mirror our daily doom-scrolling fearscape of information overload and genocidal madness, albeit leavened with traces of harmony that signal a possible redemption. This is music that’s come of age, and it is music decidedly of our time…”
These lines were written by Chris Jones (www.jonesisdying.com).
DKAPZ returns with a new declaration of sonic principles in «5 Rational Fears». In previous releases, the artist demonstrated his mastery of inhabiting the tension between silence and dissonance. In this new album, the exploration feels more visceral and emotional. This is not just techno or IDM, but a rhythmic abstraction that, once again, walks the fine line between the perverse and the sublime. The sound is a brutal wall that, paradoxically, builds spaces for reflection, forcing the listener to confront fears which have evolved from the irrational to the rational.
This new work is a natural evolution for an artist who is not afraid to explore the complexities of the irrational. Here, the polyrhythmic complexity we already know moves into a territory of beats and textures that dynamite with raw electricity and undeniable power. It’s an experience that feels like a sound therapy session, an exploration of the deepest fears of the human psyche, translated into a language of experimental techno that only dkapz can speak. An album that solidifies his place as one of the scene’s most audacious sound architects.
Artist: DKAPZ
Title: 5. Rational Fears
Label: Self-Released
Catalogue: DKAPZ_005
Release Date: September 19th. 2025
Support & Buy on Bandcamp
Tracklist
1. THIRTEEN
2. Anthropomorphobia
3. Nucleomituphobia
4. TEN
5. It’s Easier to Imagine the End of the World than the End of Capitalism
6. Momentary Understanding I
7. Intermission (Fear of Intermissions)
8. Thalassophobia
9. Momentary Understanding II
10. Chronophobia
11. Kinesiophobia
12. Globophobe on a Globe
DKAPZ
Instagram | Bandcamp | Linktree
Club Furies
Website | SoundCloud | Instagram | Facebook | Bandcamp | Threads | Substack | Linktree
Club Furies 
Deja un comentario