The Keep is Gothenburg-based producer Oliver Knowles, whose recent Andra EP has remained in rotation since its release over the summer, due to the complexity and depth of the four productions on it. Gladly, he’s releasing a new couplet of tracks tomorrow, the Apocrypha EP, and we have the pleasure of bringing you the title track today. The Keep lets us know about the themes of the new release, saying:
“‘Apocrypha’ was inspired by a score I had written earlier in the year for a short film titled In Blood. It uses elements of the score and sound design, and some of the film’s themes are reflected in the track. Both tracks on this EP explore ideas of delusion, creating false narratives to justify terrible actions and being driven by imaginary forces. In that context ‘Apocrypha’ is the action and ‘Up Into The Gold’ is the aftermath.“
“Apocrypha” immediately puts you on high alert with a spacious-yet-demanding beat that injects itself straight through the flesh. Soon joined by a bass synth that rumbles like a humming earthquake and some unsettlingly celestial tones, “Apocrypha” quickly marks itself out as The Keep’s darkest track to date. What he says in the above quote about this track being a terrible action makes sense, as “Apocrypha” continues to shudder and clang, building in intensity like a wave of fury bubbling up inside a body. By the time “Apocrypha” reaches its conclusion, steady rage has fully grasped the production, and all notions of calm are dismissed as animal instincts take over.
The video for “Apocrypha” is a sci-fi exploration of outer and inner space, with The Keep saying: “The video for Apocrypha is an interpretation of how that person might perceive the uncontrollable forces that drive them.”
The Keep’s new EP, Apocrypha, comes out tomorrow through Houndstooth. Revisit out On Deck with the producer, in which he picked five albums by Swedish artists that have been influential on him.
