Five things that inspired Gatekeeper’s <i>Exo</i>

From bugging out to the IMAX ident to larking around English heritage sites with Laurel Halo.
published
2 Jul 2012
tags
Gatekeeper
Hippos in Tanks
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Gatekeeper – ‘Tree Drum’ (Pre-Gen Exo Mix)

We asked Gatekeeper if they could talk to us about five records that influenced their upcoming album, Exo. They said no.

What they did agree to do was to pick five YouTube clips that they were vibing off during the making of Exo, a reputation-making LP that sees them reject early 80s horror soundtrack pastiche in favour of macho EBM, 90s urban sci-fi atmospherics and high-velocity acid techno, all rendered with the impossible sheen of contemporary Hollywood sound design. In their own words, it’s a record about “pineal activation, IMAX phantasy, drippy acid ecosystems and HD….everything.”

These guys aren’t kidding around. Exo is accompanied by “a first-person gaming environment” specially designed by artist Tabor Robak, in which one explores various worlds inspired by the tracks on the album, and they’re also offering an Exo font, also custom-made by Robak, as a free download.

You can listen to Gatekeeper’s excellent ‘Tree Drum’ track via the Soundcloud player above, and over the next five pages view their apparatus for better understanding “time, density, and the man vs nature dichotomy”.

Exo is out July 17 on Hippos In Tanks. More information here.