Anyma Closes the Genesys Era with a Groundbreaking Album
So much digital ink has been spilled in the electronic dance music world about the loss of the album in the classic sense of the word. We reminisce on the days when an album was a musical journey, meant to be consumed as a whole. That type of album has largely been lost to the endless singles and cumulative release albums. Yet Anyma‘s The End of Genesys album not only revives this type of album, but takes it to a whole new level, potentially starting a new trend for high-concept albums.
This is because thousands of people had the opportunity to experience this album as live visual and auditory spectacle at Sphere Las Vegas. You see, Anyma has had a very clear vision for what he wants his project to be, and the Sphere shows were the fully realized version of that vision. His tracks often explore concepts surrounding intelligence, consciousness, the fusion of nature and technology, and the applicability of human concepts, such as life & death and love & loss to the world of artificial intelligence. It all sounds a bit excessive for a melodic techno artist, but it all comes together when the intricate visuals are presented alongside the music.
And so it is that almost every track on The End of Genesys instantly transports you back to the mindblowing Sphere, bringing back the moments of wonder you experienced there, and the friends and loved ones you shared those moments with. The goosebumps return with a rush of emotions that is hard to compare to any other album. It’s not crazy to think that The End of Genesys is the beginning of a new era for albums. Basically every track on this album was played during the Sphere shows, so those people will already know them. Even for other people, the tracks have been omnipresent on social media since the Sphere shows began. Anyma is cognizant that this is a new type of album and perhaps it goes beyond the realm of melodic techno or even techno, and Anyma sees this album as a foray into the general music industry.
The Tracks
The tracklist does not mirror the Sphere shows in terms of running order, and the tracklist also includes tracks that were not played at every Sphere show. The biggest and most beloved tracks were released as singles, ‘Angel in the Dark‘, ‘Hypnotized‘, ‘Voices in My Head‘, and ‘Neverland‘. However each of the tracks is bound to elicit an emotional response.
The opening track, ‘Lucente‘, will be familiar to anybody from the Sphere as it was the very first thing that played as the show began. This track goes hand in hand with ‘The End of Genesys’, the operatic track that played outside of the Sphere for months during the Anyma residency. It also included one of the most memorable visuals since it was played on the Exosphere for all to see around Las Vegas and the world.
The end result is that this album feels like an instant classic, a platitude I usually reserve for Rufus du Sol albums. By the time you hear this album you will probably already love at least a few, if not most, of the tracks on it.
My favorite tracks that were not released as singles
Taratata – This dark and foreboding collaboration with Grimes came with such a visual flare in the form of the terrorizing visuals that it can’t be ignored. This one has been out in the ether since even before the Sphere shows and we love it.
Atmosphere – This is another darker and punchier track with Chris Avantgarde. It’s one of the rare instrumentals in the mix and it served as a bit of a bridge between scenes during the Sphere shows. It’s a great dark atmospheric track that you can see being played across the techno spectrum.
In My Mind – Anyma’s collaboration with SCRIPT is such a banger that I am surprised it was not given a single release, but it was pre-released last week as a Beatport exclusive, demonstrating the power of this one as a dancefloor weapon.
Entropy – When we learned that Anyma was collaborating with REZZ, many of us were puzzled at how the two could merge their sounds. This track did not make it into rotation until the final run of Sphere shows, but it was added to great effect. The more you listen to this one the more it grows on you.
Human Now – This was one of the tracks that only got introduced in certain Sphere shows, but it has grown to occupy the emotional closing track moment for Anyma’s shows in recent months. This collaboration with Luke Steele of Empire of the Sun is the perfect closer for Anyma because it is the end result of his Genesys narrative. The story of Genesys is something akin to the creation of artificial life, the artificial life gaining consciousness and the human experience through life, death, love and loss – so that the robot is, in many ways, a human just like all of us. All of this is set against the uplifting feel-good vibes of the track that can’t help but make your heart swell.
Leave a Mark – My favorite of the new tracks is absolutely ‘Leave a Mark’ with MAGNUS, and the gorgeous visuals that go with it. Since we still aren’t getting ‘You Make Me’, this track fills that emotional lovey-dovey slot in the tracklist. It’s nearly impossible to hear this one without feeling that sense of wonder that you felt during the Sphere show as the entire ceiling above you became a gorgeous starry night sky until the two beings come together and it creates a huge wave of energy that rolls across the entire massive screen.
It says quite a lot that, in an album that released its heaviest hitters in advance, there are still 6+ amazing tracks that you need to check out. Do yourself a favor and listen to the entire album, and pull up the track visuals to go along with it on YouTube.
We don’t know what’s next for Anyma, but we will start to get an idea soon. He’s set for a number of headlining shows throughout the Summer, including Afterlife Barcelona, Tomorrowland, Creamfields and more. We’ll get more visual spectacle shows but also some stripped down performances as well. The future is bright for Matteo Milleri. You can listen to the whole album below.
