Today, Danz CM — the self-produced musician, songwriter, and composer formerly known as Computer Magic whose beloved Synth History zine (more info below) has reinforced her DIY all-star status — releases LÄRM!, the new project that she describes as “a Krautrock-inspired medieval album filled with analog synth improvisations recorded through a tape machine.” Listen to LÄRM! here.

The record’s focus track “Lärm I (Hey Angel)” is a serene slice of motorik modular synthpop, and as track one on the album, it sets the tone for LÄRM!’s alchemical atmospheres and alien elegance which runs throughout.

LÄRM! (meaning “noise” or “commotion”) pays homage to 1970s Krautrock bands like Cluster, Can, Neü, and Harmonia, seamlessly fusing synth improvisations, hypnotic rhythms, and dream-like vocals. An eclectically crafted psychedelic alt-pop concept, the record’s sound found inspiration in the delicate nature of life, death, and legacy.

Written, recorded, and produced by Danz CM in her home studio in Los Angeles, she used a tape machine and all analog synths to make the album: Minimoog, Roland Saturn 09, Casiotone 403, and Grandmother. While clearly indebted to those aforementioned forebears, Danz also taps into their form-breaking spirit, finding fresh folds and imbuing these otherworldly compositions with her singular touch.

Of the record’s inspiration, Danz CM says: “I’m not a religious person, or spiritual even, but I often think about how someday everything we know will all turn to dust. I was listening to Dan Carlin’s 2-part podcast episode on the Viking Age called Twilight of the Æsir and it got me thinking about how easily empires rise and fall. Religions turn into myths. Everything fades eventually. We are all just a blip in the history of human existence and existence in general, like that one Carl Sagan Cosmos episode where he’s standing on the last day of the ‘Cosmic Calendar.’

“The name and ‘product’ of LÄRM! is meant to represent the noise/media we consume daily, fed to us through an algorithm created by a room full of business executives for the sole purpose of making money, from what news you engage with, to what memes you send to your friends,” Danz continues. “You consume and become desensitized in the process because it’s all so absurd, and eventually you question whether your own thoughts are even yours or a product of the algorithm designed to keep you engaged. But when you think too much, when you break free from the Matrix, the rose-colored glasses fall off. It’s very inspired by the Matrix and They Live, distractions keep people from questioning underlying systems of control…

“‘Don’t think, just drink! LÄRM!™'”