Whether you know it or not, Dreamcrusher has been one of the most boundary-breaking, influential artists in noise, experimental…. shiiid underground-which-breeds-mainstream music of our time. Having dawned from Wichita, Kansas as a dark-skinned black, non-binary queer human being, their humanity has constantly been questioned, oftentimes treated the most inhumane for who they naturally are.
Relocating to seek safety, community and other like-minded / identifying folks is what those seeking safety do. Whether it be in obvious markers like The Great Migration or immigrants seeking asylum from all types of persecution, we navigate to where there’s water to sustain our beings that are inherently meant to be nourished. Moving to NYC dawns another type of constant pressure — whether it be high prices for basic necessities like food and shelter, constant housing displacement, over-policing of black, brown and poor people, lack of mental health services when your mental is constantly being tested… enduring all this is tough, but the people of New York do this because we love each other, NY is our home, there’s no love like hood love or pull up to your DIY spot and see all the other mutants love. Nevertheless enduring for connection while constantly feeling disconnected from your basic needs is a mind fuck… and trying to do it while putting out your music?! child.
It’s no wonder their musical expression sounds the way it does. Unapologetic, heavy, a fight, raw. Their live shows are often clipped with moments of larger black culture in rap and trap songs interluding before an onslaught of the-fury-of-life-expelled-through-them-and-into-the-speakers hits, filling the room with the heartbeat of what their insides feel like, piercing the onlooker, dragging the onlooker.
And you might just get caught onlooker. You might jus get dragged. You might just fracture your L4 😉 or leave with a bloody nose, kuz shit aint sweet. Its real. Their art isnt theatre, their skin something they can take off. They carry their blackness, their identity and orientation as a rightful part of them… and the world should celebrate them for their continued defiance when it would have been more logical to give up.
Yet they RISE.
photo by Edwina Hay
Their latest offerings of 2023 sees the release of Suite ONE and Suite TWO thru PTP Recordings, ran by GENG PTP, another unwavering figure of noise, experimental and keeping-it-real despite _____ in the NYC music scene. One can see why these two foundations of perseverance have decided to collab in their releases, seeing the duo officially come together as CENTENNIAL GARDENS and with Geng mastering Suite ONE and recording, mixing and adding a special ‘finesse’ to SUITE TWO.
Both bodies of work are grhhh everlasting. Unhinged, heavy beats revolve-evolve, pounding under Dreamcrusher’s untamed bodies of sound. I’m not here to review the record, I’m just here to be a conduit. If you haven’t heard, immerse yourself in the FIGHT that is Dreamcrusher. In the LOVE that is Dreamcrusher, in the unapologetic blackness that is Dreamcrusher — in the sound of their soul. It’s been an honor.
Click for access to Dreamcrusher Suite ONE
Click for access to Dreamcrusher Suite TWO
