DozenQ – Galilee
GALILEE is an electronic alter ego of the multi-genre allrounder musician, songwriter, producer Douglas Garnett also known as DiGDuGDisaster. ‘Robot Arms’ is the debut e.p. on VOD Recordings and contains songs recorded between 2002 and 2013.
Review of current EP – Robot Arms
Much like popular electronic acts such as Squarepusher, Download or Amon Tobin, Douglas Garnett’s electronic project Galilee mixes equal parts innovation and accessibility, blissfully coloring outside the lines on the 2013 EP release entitled “Robot Arms”. The EP blends a series of electronic genres and each track is radically different, yet all cohesive and a necessary part of the journey.
“Hermetically Sealed” glitches and tweaks it’s way along, taking a Skinny Puppy/cevin Key influence and colliding it with some dubstep for good measure. This is hard hitting headphone music to be sure. “Robot Arms” is a driving, nose-through-the-wall listening experience perfect for frantic dancing or even deep contemplation, strange as that sounds. Garnett has the dreamer’s disease, and this bodes well for his music, which has a sense of depth beyond the choice of sound.
“Welcome To The End” continues along similar lines, while introducing Garnett’s distorted vocals and pop/indie sensibilities in support of another driving beat. Somehow, this introduction to the end is comforting and even celebratory. Other recommended tracks include “Wishing”, which seems to start as a slow burner before embarking on a wild dupstep ride and a wonderfully odd symphonic synth that the Cheshire Cat himself would enjoy.
“Day To Day” brings the feeling of comfort and sadness we’d expect from Adore-era Pumpkins, as Garnett’s pop sensibility and lead vocal comes into play again. Possibly the highlight of the album is “The Saddest Video Game”, which needs to be heard rather than described, as it’s choice of instrumentation and samples rank highly in the innovation category. It’s a listen that places you in an an alternate world. “Kojak” rounds out the EP with a bonus track, and probably the closest thing you’re likely to hear to a club single.
All in all, fans of interesting, artful electronic music should flock to Galilee, and rightfully so. Highly recommended listening.
James Moore, author & publicist
independentmusicpromotions.com
01 How did you get started in music?
In 5th grade music class my teacher made me learn some guitar chords because I couldn’t sing very well in the choir and I needed something to do for our recital. A few years later I became obsessed with rock music and guitar, taking a short detour with saxaphone in 7th grade. I started my first ‘band’ in 8th grade. We were terrible but I fell in love with all things rock and roll.
02 Where did your direction come from?
I started out listening to radio and ‘classic rock’ that’s where I learned song structure and melody. As I got older I branched out into all types of music, including electronica, house, industrial and techno and that’s where GALILEE came in.
03 Who were your major influences and inspirations and who do you despise?
The list of influences is ever evolving, but I can say that I like artists that bring something original to the table. As far as electronic artists go, I really dig Infected Mushroom, Bassnectar, deadmau5, Nero, NIN, old Pigface. As far as who I despise, well, I guess I just try not to listen to stuff I don’t like so I don’t judge since music is always about the listener and it’s so subjective. I guess I can safely say I’m not a huge fan of Justin Beiber and prefab pop icons that don’t write or create their own music. But I don’t despise him either, he’s just a kid making loads of cash for what he does, whatever that is.
04 What inspires you to make your current type of songs and sound?
I like to experiment and not stay too long in one place musically that is. That’s something listeners will notice right away on the ‘Robot Arms’ e.p. Right now I want to start pushing boundaries of what’s considered electronic music, since it’s a format that really should be as limitless as imaginations should be.
05 What can someone who has never seen you live before expect from your live shows then & possibly even now?
Since I’m not a DJ and am only a music producer/songwriter there’snot much chance of a ‘live’ performance happening right away. That could change however under the right circumstances.
06 How do you begin your songs? What types of themes and subjects do you deal with?
Usually I’ll have something stuck in my head for a few days before I start to arrange it in my homestudio. Once in a while I’ll just start monkeying with beats and see what happens. Sometimes there’s just no rhyme or reason for what I do, it just ends up a certain way. I like drama, sci-fi and horror, so I tend to create themes that might be considered ‘dark’. I’ve composed a couple of ‘happy’ songs and it just feels a bit weird for me. But it’s good to break yourself out of whatever musical box you crawl into now and then.
07 How did your music evolved since you first began playing?
I’d like to think I’ve grown mostly as a songwriter/composer and am constantly adding new elements and layers to my sound. I’m also more open minded about music than I used to be. I used to be somewhat of a purist and everything had to be in it’s right place. But that gets boring after a while and leaves no room for growth. So I’m in a constant state of musical evolution, God willing I’ll be doing this til the day I die so I don’t ever want to get stuck as an ‘artist’.
08 What has been your biggest challenge? Were you been able to overcome this? If so, how?
The biggest challenge for me right now is combining genres in ways that people will accept and listen to. I just finished an electrohop track for an upcoming release and some people can’t get over that it’s not pure hiphop, as in old school. I don’t want to repeat what thousands before me have done, or why even bother right? So I’m working on that.
09 Do you play covers? If you could pick any song, which would you like to cover most and why?
There are a few covers I’d like to do but I’d like to keep that a surprise for now. Some of them could be terrible if not done just right. I think we all have a special place in our hearts for a good cover song that is done well. I would really want to make it my own, you know?
10 Where did you envisage being in five years time?
Most likely working on my craft and putting out more album releases. Hopefully to a larger audience by then. LOL.
11 Who would you most like to record with?
That’s a hard question, since there are so many influential people that have shaped me into what I am. I’d love to record with Jim Morrison of The Doors, but since he’s no longer living…
12 What should we be expecting from you in the near future?
Starting August 1st, I’ll be putting out a new single each month until the end of the year, then we’ll probably put them out in some sort of e.p. or album depending on how much material I have. I’m also putting together a remix contest and the top 5 remixes will be featured in an upcoming release on VOD Recordings, which is the label I’m currently on.
Web Links: digdugdisaster.com
Facebook: facebook.com/DouglasGarnett
Twitter: twitter.com/DiGDuGDiSaSTeR
VOD Recordings: vodrecordings.net
Link to buy Robot Arms e.p.:
‘Kojak’ FREE single here: