Redwood Haze
by Tridact from Rogue Valley, Oregon, USA
Disco House
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Tridact is Brandon Johnson, an electronic music producer based in Southern Oregon. Originally from the Southern California coastal city of Santa Barbara, he played in several bands in his youth – ranging from punk rock to dub reggae – before discovering the endless possibilities of music made with synths, samplers, sequencers and drum machines.
After initially debuting on the Ghostly International compilation “Ghostly International Presents: Moodgadget,” Johnson caught the ear of Norway’s Prins Thomas, who soon after released Tridact’s eponymous debut full-length album and two singles on Thomas’ Internasjonal label.
Well received in reviews, Resident Advisor wrote that the album was “the kind of seasonally-bound album that we just haven’t seen enough of this year,” and Juno Records described the album as “an impressive debut” and an “utterly joyful set.”
Tridact’s music bursts with color and melody, intentionally forgoing the restraints of subtlety or minimalism. Filtered analog waves bleep and squelch, streams of midi data trigger and sync to drum machine cadences and lo-fi samples. Along with live instrumentation, ones and zeros of the digital world interact to create sonic landscapes underneath drifting and oscillating voltage controlled sound.
Defying categorization, Tridact’s music resists allegiance to a specific mood, tempo, style, era’s sound or genre. Instead inspiration is drawn from the fundamentals of house, techno, hip hop, breakbeat, disco, synth pop, psychedelia, indie rock and anything else thrown in the mix. The common thread is a mixture of dense, catchy and rhythmic sonic layers. The result – always eclectic and very listenable.
Tridact returns in 2020 with the follow up to his debut album with eight new tracks on his own imprint, Raydiata Music. The essence of his style remains – catchy melodies, lush strings and soaring leads. Bass lines bounce over drum machines and lo-fi samples.
