Gary Numan's resurrection from post 80's gloom continues to rise. After his long period in an exile of "use to be a pop star" the recent album 'Splinter' has placed this affable man right back at the centre of the charts. It's a good thing that class will out. It doesn't always happen but it couldn't happen to a nicer guy... and you can also be sure he's sick of hearing that. Thing is being a moody bastard aint Gary's style even though his recordings are dripping with moody emotions.
This latest single I Am Dust" taken from of his 'Splinter' is one of the best tracks on the album. Produced by a genuinely moody bastard Trent Reznor, Numan's voice lifts the familiar Reznor synth heavy ostinato beats from a cry of desperation into yell of celebration. There's always been an echoe of Berlin era Bowie triumphant freedom with Numan's vocals and it always sounds so bloody uplifting. It might be a familier sound in Numan's music but it's not one anyone else can or does touch. It is simply Gary Numan's sound.
The video for "I Am Dust" has had extra attention too, and in direct contrast to the state of the art sound this has been made from an analogue source -
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Directed by Logan Owlbeemoth with effects by Omebi Velouria, this video was made using a Tachyons + video glitch synth effected live via a HI-8 camera and a CRT television to create triply, blurry, VHS-style images of Gary Numan as he sings the song. In a nod to Gary's analogue roots, no computer post production was used in the making of this video.
But then Gary was always from the MTV generation of artists and this suits the whole thing perfectly, and also in keeping with the present psychedelic retake that's being seen more often.
It must all be giving the man an enormous boost to his confidence. Still relevant after all these years. Couldn't happen to a... (stop that ! - ed)
