Listen: Synthetic Lying Machine Releases Homemade Music Vol.3 EP

We know very little about Synthetic Lying Machine. He’s based in Mumbai, called ‘Sean’ (just Sean) and his short description on Facebook says “man is only 90% water, the Synthetic Lying Machine is 100% lies”. Sure.

Homemade Music Vol.3 is the third release under his SLM alias, though the odd producer has also released some excellent sounds as The Ebullist. As the EP title suggests, SLM makes sounds with household objects and homemade synths (he’s listed his ridiculously sparse gear here in his one and only interview with Border Movement). It’s exactly that approach to making music that sets SLM apart from the rest. Sean isn’t limited by his seemingly wanting set of resources – he’s a rare breed of musician who invests enough faith in his own creative capabilities to do the talking.

The EP sees Sean “clearing out the old archives” so we didn’t expect Homemade Music Vol.3 to sound vastly different from his previous releases. In some senses, we were correct – the entire release maintains his lo-fi, experimental, atmospheric and deliberately scratchy brand of downtempo electronica - ‘sughar kanne (edit83.6u)’, in particular could be placed neatly in the ‘My Interstellar Love’ EP.

This doesn’t mean the artist hasn’t evolved. SLM combines Indian instrumental samples with his trademark cosmic blips and plinks, plays with percussion and beat in ways we really haven’t seen from him before and interestingly layers some beautiful, ghosted Indian vocal samples over his chiptune sounding synths (‘6 बिट poly-माया’). We also love the last, more abstract track ‘Anns_kitchen_102011 vb4’, though its throbbing beats and scattered keys seem ill-matched with the other sounds in the EP. But by and large, Homemade Music Vol.3 might be Synthetic Lying Machines most clever, detailed work so far.

As always, this is pure, calm headphones listening for when you’re in the mood to lay back and absorb yourself in sound. Follow Synthetic Lying Machine on Facebook for updates and buy his album here on bandcamp. You can listen to Homemade Music Vol.3 in its entirety below.

Words: Diya Gupta