Shmu – “All Will Be Erased” & “All Will Be Erased (Jlin Remix)”
Chopping, sampling, glitching, recycling, and renewing sounds is what Shmu does best. The Austin-based experimental artist pulls from a wide range of styles, chewing them up and spitting out frenetic sound collage fever dreams. Sam Chown’s latest eclectic sound collage comes in the form of “All Will Be Erased,” a track that seamlessly melds a sample of one of his old shoegazey guitar demos and a Lil Durk cover that was previously unreleased. In addition to the single, we also get to hear JLIN’s bouncy remix of the same track.
If you’ve ever wanted to hear what a fuzzed-out guitar hook sounds like with a hip-hop sensibility, but a computerized version of all that — now’s your chance. Some could call Shmu’s sound “post-internet pop,” but it might be easier to imagine something like My Bloody Valentine meeting Animal Collective. Or at least that was the case on 2015’s excellent album Shhh!!!!. This time around, Shmu seems to have delved deeper, drawing from ’80s R&B, yacht rock, and psych and venturing further into the corners of off-kilter sounds from the last 40 years.
In an email, Chown explained his modus operandi behind the song: “Lyrically, I’m attempting to dive into existential questions regarding the point of life is & how all of our endeavors & creations in our lifetime will vanish eventually.” He went on to talk a bit about the remix: “I was lucky enough to get JLIN to remix the song in her progressive post-footwork Chicago style. She’s one of my favorite current artists & it’s a true blessing to get her spin on this track. I love how she’s able to make music that is mostly rhythmic based, without needing to use much melody or harmony. The way she was able to switch rhythmic feels in her remix is brilliant. She has such a unique mind!
These two tracks come in anticipation of Shmu’s upcoming album, Lead Me To The Glow, which is the followup 2016’s LP Oooze. Listen to both versions below.
Lead Me To The Glow is due out 10/1. Pre-order it here.