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'Ultraviolence' – Violet Mist (SBA #026)

Following the release of ‘First Vows’ by Sulk Rooms, the new drone-style project from Thomas Ragsdale, See Blue Audio welcomes another much respected figure in electronic music to its roster for the second in a series of releases from artists new to the label. This project goes by the name of Violet Mist with ‘Ultraviolence’ featuring two tracks of what its creator has dubbed cyberwave for the twenty-six release on See Blue Audio.

Violet Mist is an alias of Manchester-based DJ and producer Jozef K, who will surely need little in the way of introduction to anyone who has followed dance music over the last decade. As a DJ, he has played across the globe; as a producer, his records have been supported by a wide range of DJs, and Sasha’s Last Night On Earth and Lossless are just two of the many labels on which he has released. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that his productions can take many different turns and assume many different guises, and Violet Mist is the most recent of these.

The Violet Mist adventure began in 2020 with the release of the ‘Glimmer’ album, followed by ‘Prophecy 2096’ in April 2021. Both albums came out on the Disintegration State label, close associates of See Blue Audio and co-founded by Steve Hadfield. ‘Ultraviolence’ is an expansion of the musical ideas expressed on ‘Prophecy 2096’ with its shadowy synthwave and multiple textures of sound.

At the heart of Violet Mist lies a futuristic world, but a dystopian one. This is a broken future where the bright lights and vivid glare of ever-advancing technology disguise the gloom and conflict within. This imagery is also present in the cover artwork for all Violet Mist releases, and, as the name Violet Mist suggests, rich colours and obscured vision can co-exist. The word cyberwave conjures up many images too: ‘A Clockwork Orange’, ‘Blade Runner’, electro-punks and synth hackers, alien video games, sinister technology, and visionary explorers of time and space.

Within this swirl of imagery, many contradictions can be found, which also provide a playful edge, and these are present in the music of ‘Ultraviolence’. Nothing is quite what it seems on the title track: luscious sweeps of oscillating effects interplaying with delicate and sombre melodies; birdsong and the harmonies of nature meshing with the sound of sirens; and a hypnotic ambience that is soothing, while also warning of a strange and foreboding future. Nature replaced by dark energy.

‘Ultraviolence’ is complemented and contrasted by ‘Ultrazukunft’ – a reference to the German word ‘zukunft’ meaning future – where the beatless soundscape of the title track is punctured by shuddering beats, and the sense of foreboding reaches another level. With their intricate layers of shifting sound, both tracks are a truly immersive listening experience that reveal more with every play.

Imagine walking alone through rain-washed late night/early morning city streets, brightly illuminated but eerily quiet, where danger from unknown forces could approach at any moment. This is the cinematic ambience of ‘Ultraviolence’ and cyberwave imagination of Violet Mist in full effect.

Mastered by Thomas Ragsdale.

Photography: Harrison Qi.