Dinamo Azari Lives the ‘Estranged’ Life on His Own
“I’ve been enjoying not having to be on an airplane a lot,” jokes Dinamo Azari over the phone from his Toronto home. “It’s been nice just being in the studio, being able to create and to have some fun.”
For Azari, born Christian Farley, outside of the casual remix here and there, things have been mostly quiet since his band disbanded in 2013. If anything, these past three years have been the creative reboot and introspective solace his soul was seeking.
“I essentially was focused on producing a full, well-rounded, well-scoped album,” he says of his absence from the music world. “I just wanted something that encompasses the way I feel and the way I’m growing in the studio.”
And grow he did.
As a founder of now-defunct house act Azari & III and one of its key producers, Farley left a lasting imprint on the global electronic circuit through the group’s limited yet critically celebrated discography: one full-length album and an accompanying remix album; a two-part DJ mix album as part of Get Physical’s Body Language series; and a handful of singles, remixes and EPs. The act’s distinctive sound was underlined by a stylistic duality: Largely a so-called revivalist unit, Azari & III adopted influences from the heyday of classic house with a nod to future sounds, a penchant for driving techno, and a love for electronic-tinged R&B.
Azari & III, which was rounded out by two live vocalists—Starving Yet Full and Fritz Helder—and producer Alixander III, called it quits following the band’s largest marketing and touring push in the States, breaking the hearts of countless house-heads and techno lovers worldwide.
“Azari & III was definitely my baby, and I just wanted to focus on that and see it advance like it did,” reflects Farley. “It was just unimaginable.”
“Sometimes people who make dark music are very happy people.”
But Azari & III was then, and a solo Farley is now. He steps out on his own with his debut full-length release, Estranged, a stripped-down, minimal take on house and techno that sees the Canadian producer return to his rightful home in the darkest corners of the underground. Where Azari & III thrived via beautifully overproduced electronic pop aesthetics, Estranged is a window into Farley’s deeper psyche.
“I got to take it a bit further into the night world,” he says. “[I was] really trying to come from the angle where I was feeling and capture that in an album. I took out a little bit of the pop aspect of [Azari & III] and went back to my roots, which is that unconscious, late-at-night [feeling].”
You could hear Farley’s latest sonic direction right from the get-go: Album opener “Witchwood” appropriately begins with a distorted voice creepily whispering, “Enter into my dreams,” a warm welcome into a picturesque nightmare of percussive bliss and warping synths. Elsewhere, the heavy theme continues with “Break Me” and “Edge of Control,” two choice cuts for midnight mischief.
Those looking for a continuation of Azari & III’s hedonism will be happily disappointed, for this is the sound of Farley all his own.
“[Estranged] is definitely something I’m proud of,” he says. “It’s not gonna get the attention of the Azari & III brigade, but it still has a very underground nuance to it.”
Three years’ time feels like an eternity in the warp-speed operations of the electronic world. Lots can change; sounds come and go. And people—well, they become estranged. But for Farley, Estranged didn’t come from a feeling of alienation from his former bandmates or from an emotional rough patch, as one would assume.
“I’m feeling slightly estranged from society sometimes.”
“I wasn’t feeling like I was in a dark place,” says Farley of the album’s inspiration. “Sometimes people who make dark music are very happy people.”
Rather, Estranged reflects on the current global affairs affecting humankind as one people.
“I’m feeling slightly estranged from society sometimes,” he says. “You could feel like a stranger on this earth. You’ve got all these corporations and consumerism and GMOs and people playing God and reconstructing nature… We’re hearing it every day, seeing all this shit go down, and you’re feeling more helpless. But at the same time, you have this feeling where you’re a bit estranged from everyone.
“I think we’re moving into a more activism state, where we all have to start becoming activists,” he adds. “That is always ingrained in my mind when I’m writing, too—trying to get people’s attention to certain topics or thoughts.”
A bit cerebral, yes, but you get Farley’s bigger picture mentality here.
While Estranged explores new artistic territory for Farley, there are still remnants from his musical past. Lead single “Victim” features former Azari & III vocalists Starving Yet Full and Fritz Helder for a smoothed-out vocal house groove. The singing duo returns on “Cyan,” a techno drive through arpeggio roads.
As he did in his Azari & III days, Farley owes much of his complete sound to his vocal collaborators, and fresh blood pumps throughout Estranged. Torontonian newcomer James Ken Bailey gorgeously applies his vocal gospel upbringing on “Santo (Fear & Desire)” and produces a soft elegance on the album-closing title track. Current Berlin resident and Queens, NY, native Ahmad Larnes provides vocals on “Edge of Control” and “Witchwood,” one of Farley’s album favorites. “It is a timeless track, in my books,” he says. “It’s got this raw, penetrating sound that keeps morphing. It’s something like I’ve never done, and Ahmad does this creeper of a track.”
As for an Azari & III reunion, that’s highly unlikely, according to Farley.
“It was all part of this life-learning experience,” he says of his former life on the road. “It was great being able to travel the world and see and meet such unique people. I feel like I’ve come back to my roots. I feel like things are just more natural and at my pace right now. It’s nice to not have too much pressure; to have that release and that time away has been really nice.”
Call it a deliberate estrangement to his days past.
“I like to feel like everything we’ve all been through is a great learning experience,” says Farley. “And dealing with different unique individuals and human nature is such an amazing thing to experience. The more you experience and learn and are able to empathize with everyone, it’s all about the learning process. The closer you get to understanding that, the closer you get to understanding yourself. When you get there, I think you may no longer be estranged.”
Estranged from Dinamo Azari is available now on the Vinyl Factory.
John Ochoa is “Hungry for the Power.” Follow him on Twitter.
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