Factor Chandelier is a conceptual artist. Looking back, the Saskatoon-based producer overlapped rap with gritty blues and 60s psych-pop as an ode to his grandfather on Lawson Graham, while Woke Up Alone sought the interloping of necromancy and psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’ five stages of grief in On Death and Dying. (see also: Factor’s “Woke Up Fucked Up Mix” for the Impose Friday Night Mix series.)
Factor Chandelier might also harbor wishes to be a necromancer. His latest epitaph goes out to the ruins of Factoria, a failed city now rebranded as the Saskatoon suburb of Silverwood Heights. It might seem too convenient to be true, but Factoria was a real place. Attune to his history, Factor’s Factoria taps into that same visionary spirit that lingers in the metaphysical realm of the ghost town. On “Buildings” the well spring of potential is translated into the atmospheric synths. One can listen to “Buildings” and imagine Factoria’s skyline in the distance, growing closer and admiring the sky glow like a halo on the city. It taps into the same spiritual manipulation found in the emotive IDM of The Campfire Headphase.
Does Factor’s “Buildings” seemingly glance at the Boards of Canada playbook? Call this more a Saskatoon variation from actual Canada.
Factoria is out April 15 on Fake Four, Inc.
