Vincent Seratti, known in his small corner of the music world as Sapien, could be considered a visionary artist. Under the Dark End Sky incorporates countless influences, creating music which veers wildly -- and constantly -- between styles, creating a situation wherein the listener will hear not only the songs Seratti has created, but also the previous artists whose work he is building upon.
You may ask, justifiably, how such an act makes Sapien visionary. The answer is far more obvious than you may think. Given our place in the historical scheme of things, it is virtually impossible to come up with something genuinely new, and nearly every "new" idea merely repackages things that are already in existence. The most successful musical acts are generally artists who've repackaged existing musical styles, convincing the listener that they're new. Elvis, for example, did this with gospel and rhythm and blues, while the Beatles took the contributions of Presley and Buddy Holly, among others, and reinterpreted them from their own cultural viewpoint. Thus, when Sapien creates an album which updates this trend, incorporating more modern musical styles such as punk, new wave and electronica, you get the feeling he may be on to something.
From the opening track, "Alien Civilization", for example, you may infer that early 1980s new wave played a large role in shaping Seratti's tastes. On "Fun In The Sun", the new wave influences are gone, replaced by reggae and Durst-ish white-boy rap. "The Reason" proves that Seratti is adept at creating danceable electronica, while "Warped History" finds him honing his hard rock chops. Perhaps the most startling tune is "Too Late to Turn Back", which starts off sounding a great deal like The Ramones, then returns to the '80s for a bit of new wave, before finally evolving into near-perfect chill-out electronica.
Listeners who truly crave innovation will probably hate Under the Dark End Sky. Everything about it recalls a previous musical era -- everything from rap to electronica to punk to rock, and many points in between. If you're looking for an artist who continues in the tradition of creating new musical styles from existing ideas, however, you may find the next big thing here.
