Danz CM – Over The Ocean
Today, Danz CM — the self-produced musician, songwriter, and composer formerly known as Computer Magic who also spearheads the beloved Synth History zine — shares the track and self-directed/written video for “Over The Ocean” via Channel 9 Records, from an upcoming TBA album due later this year.
“Over The Ocean” is a synth-laden ballad blended with acoustic drums and guitar, calling to mind The Cars circa “Drive” but also to Danz’s sci-fi-tinged Computer Magic days. Brought to fruition after a recurring dream of being suspended high above the sea, the lyrics are what you’d want to hear after waking up from a nightmare. After writing, recording, and producing the track, Danz enlisted Hayden Watson (Bryan Adams) for mixing and Heba Kadry (Slowdive, Björk) for mastering.
In the video for “Over The Ocean,” shot on the cliffs of Point Dume in Malibu 203 feet above sea level, Danz CM dons a 2001: Space Odyssey-esque HAL-like assistant that allows you to travel through a chosen dreamscape. When the technology starts to malfunction, the assistant isn’t able to wake the dreamer up.
“You don’t know if the character has made it out alive; either it’s a reverse chronological narrative where the dreamscape you just witnessed was reality all along and where the character has crash landed; or the character slowly loses consciousness and fades along with the dreamscape.
I’ve always been inspired by sci-fi stuff, which you know if you’ve been a fan of mine. Ideas like the holodeck from Star Trek, the hypersleep pods from Alien, the implanted memories from Total Recall, the Devs system in Devs were all inspirations for the video.”
In November, Danz CM released LÄRM!, which Hearing Things called “instrumental electronic music with vivid scene-setting and a patient sense of narrative, delivered with warm vintage hardware tones.”
It pays homage to 1970s Krautrock bands like Cluster, Can, Neü, and Harmonia, seamlessly fusing synth improvisations, hypnotic rhythms, and dream-like vocals. While clearly indebted to those forebears, Danz also taps into their form-breaking spirit, finding fresh folds and imbuing these otherworldly compositions with her singular touch.
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