- Eric Dulan's music is as direct as his message. Out Of Knowhere, a collection of tracks released ten years ago under his DJ Bone alias, had bold and defiant titles such as "Activist" and "Dead Or In Jail" alongside spoken word sections bemoaning dance music's lack of soul. His jacking style of techno means Dulan’s more at home on the EP format: he's refined his craft on a run of 12-inches—released on his label, Subject Detroit—that span two decades. Through the label Don't Be Afraid, he’s recently begun exploring a wider spectrum of sounds and emotions as Differ-Ent.
Dulan unveiled the project in 2014 with the gleaming "Differ-Ent(Hrall)" and the gloomy "Differ-Ent(Ity)." The next year, he released a tribute to his late mother, "M.O.M.," where bristling rhythm was slowly enveloped by gaseous tones. On his first album as Differ-Ent, he's stretching out even further. Though there's no overarching narrative per se, It's Good To Be Differ-Ent is the first time we've heard Dulan present his tracks as a cohesive package.
"Inhabit Tense"'s sci-fi synths share both a birthplace and a headspace with UR's Galaxy 2 Galaxy, which can also be felt in the tribal percussion and humid air of "Drum Addict." Dulan paid his respects to the late James Stinson on "R.I.D.E. (Rest In Drexciya Eternity)," a track released in 2004. He echoes Stinson again here with "Compute Her," a cut of lithe electro that sticks close to the Drexciya blueprint.
Elsewhere, It's Good To Be Differ-Ent follows two directions. The first is a rawer version of the DJ Bone sound. "Marvel Less" and "Met Allergic Flew Antsy" are slamming floor-fillers, but they're more angular, wired and angry than anything he's made before. The second path leads into a slower, dubbier place, exemplified by "Calm Bliss." "I.M. Differ-Ent," where a choir of androids intone the title over rumbling bass, closes the LP on a darker and more disconcerting note. The more experimental tracks sometimes lack the immediacy and impact of more muscular DJ Bone material, but the risks Dulan takes by moving away from the dance floor largely pay off.
Lista de sequência de músicas01. Inhabit Tense
02. Marvel Less
03. Met Allergic Flew Antsy
04. Compute Her
05. Drum Addict
06. We Have U Surrounded
07. Motive Hate Shun
08. Fasten 8 Shun
09. Gem In Eyes feat. DJ Bone
10. Calm Bliss
11. Laser Eyes
12. I. M. Differ-Ent