“I love the way Found Object uses different sounds to convey specific emotions, whilst also keeping all the songs on ‘Instead of Words’ within the same cool realm of electronica.”
Leicestershire based artist Found Object, also known as Pete Allen, released his album ‘Instead of Words’ this year – an album full of electronic adventure. Allen has in fact released an impressive eight albums in two years now, and there is just as much quality as there is quantity.
‘Holoscene’ starts the album off. There’s fantastic production here already that keeps you captivated. Swift changes in tempo and cool sounds add an exciting sense to the song. It really sets the mood for ‘Instead of Words’, initiating these complex yet crisp instrumentals.
And then we have ‘Rain Dogs’, which made me eager to listen by the name alone. Like ‘Holoscene’, it has this crisp production, but with a whole other tune that is just as melodic. Every aspect creates imagery, and as someone with synesthesia, this song is so versatile I can see many different colours in it. ‘Rain Dogs’ flows nicely into ‘Parallax’, a song with progressive intensity to it. It feels carefully crafted yet free at the same time. And this makes sense, as Pete has spoken on what his recording process is like:
“I have musical ideas in my head all the time – it’s part of my ADHD – and I can spend hours making music which I do on my old iPhone 6s using the BeatWave app,” he said, “it’s the one thing I can concentrate on and I’m lucky because i usually get a track I’m happy with very quickly. I’m not great with production software so this method suits me and I’ve managed to make 8 albums in less than two years.
‘Punisher’ has a mystical feel, and not just from the deeply sung repeated line ‘you must be punished’. It spirals into a beautiful sequence of electronica, and with songs like ‘Punisher’, each sound feels like a metaphor for an emotion.
I feel like ‘Ten Cities’ can transport you anywhere. It’s slightly resonant of the catchy melody you might hear after you won a video game, similar in style to 90s cult electronica artists Plone. Like ‘Punisher’, it has a lyric ‘we just wanna be cool’ repeated for effect, which syncs in really well with the song. There’s a lot of imagery here. It’s the same with ‘Outro’, the perfect song to end this exciting flow of music. It starts off with a slower tempo and is more mellow than its predecessors, but sure enough it has all the right elements of electronica to make it just as exciting and entrancing.
You can listen to the album here: