Alex Cameron is one of my most exciting finds of 2013.

While his name was unfamiliar to me his work as 1/3 of Sydney-based electronic group Seekae was not. However this solo venture delineates far from the Seekae’s glossy clean synths.

Cameron’s brooding work is situated firmly in the 80’s, and yet somehow seems long before its time. Like this is probably what Claire would listen to in The Breakfast Club if she had an ipod. Even Alex Cameron’s website is designed in the vein of the early days of the internet—like it never left the 90’s. There isn’t a single aspect of this artist’s persona that isn’t a retrospective caricature of a by-gone era. It’s often hard to tell whether or not the whole thing is a carefully crafted image or so haphazard it works. Either way it’s clear that Cameron has a strong grasp on his artistic direction. (If he’s even that cognizant of it) So enigmatic is Cameron that I had to reach out to him on twitter to get his take on a few things.

Midlife crisis it may be, but it is far from sporadic. Sonically, Jumping The Shark is one of the most well-crafted and confident releases of 2013. The lyrical narratives of each track are as clever as they are dynamic. Ranging from bitter television host on “Comeback” to multiple bar patrons at what I can imagine is a skeezy-as-hell bar on “Real Bad Lookin.” The industrial synth, brass accents and bass vocals make Alex Cameron, at times, almost impossible to differentiate from Berlin artist Planningtorock. Honestly, I downloaded both artists at the same time and had no idea when one album crossed over into the each other. Coincidentally, both have a penchant for facial prothesis as part of their artistic persona. I don’t view the similarities as a critique though, but more as a testament to Cameron’s strength as an artist.

There are few things I would recommend more than downloading Alex Cameron’s Jumping The Shark. Clickity click here

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