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DvDx has crafted a concept album for a digital generation, who have been inundated with sensory overload and attention engineered content. Every time someone opens their phone, the end user’s attention is the gold every media marketer is mining for. By parodying and critiquing our current attention economy on SENSORY OVERLOAD, DvDx has created a self referential, almost fractal, piece of addicting music. For a small subset of data drunk degenerates like myself, this project is a breath of fresh air. Like any good piece of meta-ironic postmodern art, SENSORY OVERLOAD is hyper aware of itself and its camp. The future is already here, but not the one we were promised. Instead of products prophesied by the Jetsons, your attention is the product. SENSORY OVERLOAD embraces an afrofuturistic ethos and digicore sensibility as a base for building a brand while maintaining meaning and critiquing the current cyberculture. The balance between the two is where the magic happens on this album.
10/28/22
Rei: What inspired you to make a concept album?
DvDx: Man, it’s crazy because that really wasn’t the intention at first. I had all these songs with Jube [Juberlee] and we wanted to do a project together and a lot of the songs had this high energy, synthy, futuristic feeling to them. I came up with the concept of making the tape like a tv channel and each song is its own show and that just tied everything together.
Rei: What inspired the media- tv, social media, and commercials- motif in SENSORY OVERLOAD?
DvDx: I kinda feel like how could I not be inspired by that? I watch a lot of tv shows especially since the pandemic up to now so I wanted to incorporate that into my own art somehow. And you know social media is just so unavoidable. It’s a relatable equalizer among all of us and I felt that I could use it as a basis to the subject matter and underlying themes of the project.
Rei: In what dimension or time does Sensory Overload take place?
DvDx: So I would imagine that it takes place at present day in a dimension where portable technology hadn’t advanced as fast and social media didn’t become the main source of entertainment so people still rely on tv as the primary medium. The commercials and soundbites on the intro and throughout are super reminiscent of the things that were on tv when I was a preteen during summertime flipping through channels just with modern conversations and context.
Rei: Do you find gadgets like phones etc to be useful for the creative process or is it distracting?
DvDx: Its a problem for me for sure haha. I think it’s such a problem because it does actually have helpful tools but in the midst of so many distractions. For someone like me who gets really easily distracted, it can be extremely crippling to my productivity. I really wish there was a good separation. Maybe I should get a second phone lol
Rei: Is there any parallels between sensory overload and Adult Swim?
DvDx: Slightly. I think the niche sense of humor is a bit reminiscent of Adult Swim. I loved the Boondocks growing up and how they could parody real life situations and issues in such an intelligent yet ridiculously funny way.
Rei: What is your philosophy behind picking track listings? There is a lot of intention in the pacing of Sensory Overload.
DvDx: It should really be a journey. I look at what I want the project to represent based around the best songs I’ve made and try to figure out which ones sound and feel best together, sonically and subject matter wise. When it comes to pacing and sequencing, I mostly just rely on feeling, like how things feel coming before and after one another.
Rei: On "The Motions (Rabbit Hole)", you talk about people not being able to keep up with your hustle. What do you look for in a creative collaborator, like Juberlee or Kenny Mason? And what about them inspires your hustle?
DvDx: The two things that make me attach myself to artists in the way I have with Jube and Kenny is A. If I see that they have that thing that I have, where their art (in this case music) is really in them. It’s hard to explain with words but it’s like they’re in tune with that other power that creativity and ideas come from and they’re able to reach in and grab it and divinely let it out through their art naturally like no one else quite can. B. Is if I think they’re better than me. It could be technical or if they’re better at executing ideas or if they’re better at trusting their own intuition. That’s the kind of stuff that really keeps me around almost like a magnet.
Rei: There's a lot of melancholy on the closing songs of Sensory Overload. How do you find peace? Where is your happy place?
DvDx: It’s crazy. I think this will always be an ongoing struggle to find bc I feel like your happy place can change. I would say listening to and making music but there’s so much expectation and pressure and extra shit associated with it that it doesn’t suffice by itself anymore. I will say solitude though. I really enjoy my own company. I feel like my best and truest self when I’m alone. Even in public I might go roller skating by myself or just drive somewhere. Exploring by myself always makes me happy.
Rei: You've been deep in the Atlanta underground for more than a couple of years now. How do you think it has changed since, say, 2016ish, both sonically and socially?
DvDx: In the Atlanta circles I’ve been a part of specifically, I think artists are starting to see the importance of making music for the people. The scene thrives on community so if you push inclusivity through your art, that shit just adds fire to the flame. Right before covid, the scene seemed way less isolated than it was back in 2016 where it was a bunch of artists kind of just doing their own thing. It’s taking some time to get back to how it was in 2019 but I think we’re on our way for sure.
Follow DvDx: twitter.com/DvDx_
Listen To Sensory Overload: ffm.to/sensoryoverload
Written By Rei Low: twitter.com/_rocktimist
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