New Delhi-based music producer, sound engineer, and basis for rock
outfit Advaita, Gaurav Chintamani runs a solo experimental music roject
by the name of The Dirt Machine. This project’s most recent release Is
It’s About Time, a 4-track EP that is bound to calm you down or hype
you up, depending upon your mood.
While the four tracks initially might not seem to have that many stark
differences with each other, each one of them carry a distinct mood and
exposes a brilliant display of Chintamani’s multi-instrumental prowess. A
wholly instrumental record with no lyrics, the song is heavy on an edgy
blue-style sound that brims with evident passion and energy. To add
some more diversity, there are amusing samples thrown around here
and there lasting for a few seconds that almost give a relaxing ASMR-
like vibe. These samples range from the generic radio tuning and record
scratching that’s present in lo-fi and its sub genres, as well as the sound
of ice cubes clinking in a glass or the famous dialogue ‘That’s just your
opinion, man’ from The Big Lebowski.
There’s a lot happening in each song. The intro itself in the form of the
song What Did I Do Now opens the compilation with high-octane energy
that would perfectly suit a live set (once society resumes enough
normalcy to conduct gigs). This energy is carried on by songs like Get
Off and It’s About Time. The final song on the EP, Blue Cubes of Ice
somehow sounds more toned-down and mellow than the rest. However,
this outro too carries on the adrenaline that The Dirt Machine seems to
be overdosing on.
Each mood of the song varies in itself as the volume increases and
decreases at certain points. These variations along with the jazzy and
blue-sy guitaring, zestful drumming, and diverse samples raise the
overall ‘oomph’ factor, and make each song worth listening more than
once. Each track is a well-produced, high- spirited emotion in itself. This
eventually makes the EP one of the freshest and liveliest releases of this
year.
Verdict: This EP has a lot to offer to listeners, from its experimentation
around blues rock, to its diverse sampling to an overall highly energetic
and passionate vibe.
