Hurricane, producer-extraordinaire is back with his next full length LP titled “: : distortion: :”, which marks his third release under Seedhe Maut’s DL91 era. I was a huge fan of both DL91 FM and GORE!, so I was obviously very excited to see what he would come through with for this release. Seeing all the armor visuals and the cryptic posts he was making before it dropped, I could tell that this was going to be a very personal record for him. Little did I know that this would be a masterclass in production too.
“pieces/places” comes in strong as an intro, starting with a groovy bassline which is then joined by an electric piano which sounds like it came straight from The Neptunes’ studio. The drum and percussion choices are very interesting, they give it a new-school twist. We go on next to “Ipod Shuffle”, which starts off nice and slow, then the drums come in with a complete rhythmic curveball. Definitely caught me off guard, but it goes so hard. Sounds like an early 2000s game soundtrack, and I believe that atmosphere is what Hurricane is trying to recreate, coupled with the sound effects (which he said he uses to portray nostalgia and his childhood). Encore ABJ completes the half of the story that Hurricane left behind on this song.
“dhundh (rozz)” carries a similar vibe with Calm, where Hurricane talks about his childhood and how growing up in that atmosphere and eventually now staying away from home has shaped him as a person. “magic!” sees Calm and Hurricane going back and forth about a home-is-where-the-heart-is type feeling while also dropping lines about the fleeting nature of it all. We also get some of the best production on this album from Hurricane, that second instrumental is absolutely brilliant.
“cuts(dont heal XD)”, and “door::دور” seem to be talking about experiences from the past, with lines about wanting to achieve his dreams and the “agar mai bana tere jaisa toh, mai khud ka na ban paunga”, I think these mark the transition moment in the album, where he moved away from his home, also marking him separating himself from his previous life, and going onwards to achieve his dreams.
The first transition in the album. All the retro sound effects are gone too, for now, representing a different phase.
“marta nahi” seems to be a I’m-on-the-top-of-the-world-right-now track, Hurricane and Bhaskar flex all throughout the track, talking about how good and well they are doing, and how everyone else is not even worth looking at. They’re living life in the fast lane, their dreams are coming true, and they have it all. “$$$andsoftime” (which Hurricane revealed represents a half-dream-half-reality situation) is up next, showcasing how Hurricane is trying his best to hold on to these times, and stop time, but he can’t, which leads us to “promisesrmeant2bebroken”.
We hear promises being made to people about various things like “I promise I’ll call you” and “I’ll promise I meet you”, but the title of the song points to the opposite, which I believe illustrates losing yourself in your dream and forgetting people who are important to you, i.e people from your past (friends, family) etc. This theme which is briefly teased in this song, becomes the eventual defining moment of the entire album.
“canine: :poetry” is a catharsis of pain and introspection, the “I got too deep in it” that keeps going throughout the song illustrates acceptance and regret for the events that preceded it. The way the track transitions from a soft acoustic ballad to a hard DnB type four on the floor is amazing.
As you could’ve guessed already, the : : indicates the third and final transition of the record. “naturalé” will let you feel it, it sounds like a warm sunrise on a cold winter morning, it sounds like enlightenment. For the first time since they left after track 6, the retro sound effects are back, and throughout this last run of the album, what’s different now is the songs sound braggadocious and happy.
I think this represents the idea of living with all versions of yourself, the pre, middle (evolution/transition) and post. That’s what this last run of tracks and the entire album very cinematically comes around to. (Special shoutout to “xxskin_v2xx (dance)”, that beat is filthy.)
That’s not all. This album also explores themes of how life is really a sum of all your experiences put together, and you have to live with all of them, the good, the bad, and the ugly, because it’s all a part of who you are, and it will always be.
A beautiful record which left me with a lot of food for thought and perspective to think about. My favourite release from him yet, marking an exponential evolution and change in Hurricane’s discography.
I would also recommend checking out the insane website (https://www.hurricaneonline.net/) and the music videos, which will give you some additional lore and context for this record.
