As individual composers, Keith William (Wake) and Alexa Lima (Waking Astronomer / Wake) have different stylistic approaches — his compositions tend to be harsher and more abrasive, hers more minimalist and orchestral. Where the pair overlap is in their willingness to experiment to explore, to take existing genres and mediums and bend and twist them into unique and intriguing new shapes. With their new project Dialogue, the pair use their shared passion for manipulating sounds and deconstructing compositional structures in order to create dark, claustrophobic canvases of serrated noise.

“Study No. 3” is the first track the duo have made available to the public and as an opening salvo it’s eerie and unsettling. My first instinct was to attribute much of the group’s aesthetic direction to William’s penchant for crafting grating, discordant atmospheres, but as you listen to the song unfold, you can hear traces of spectral piano trying to pierce through the suffocating veil. The end result is haunting, a feeling that is only amplified by the hallucinogenic imagery and grainy found footage the pair have strung together to create the accompanying video. Nosferatu, protest marchers, rats spilling forth from a hole in a wall, a sea of upraised hands — all of these and more parade through the screen in a discomforting loop of implied violence and existential dread. There is a lot to parse and take in, but what more would you expect from two of Atlanta’s most committed left-field artists?

Dialogue will make their live debut on Saturday, June 4 at 529 when they play in support of Blursome and Eraserfase. Doors open at 9 p.m. Admission is $5.

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Facebook: @dialogueatl
Instagram: @dialogueatl