Gao the Arsonist Experiments in Three Acts on "BLEED"

"You're wasting seconds just to waste away" Gao the Arsonist achingly croons in the first 20 seconds of his pensively existential new track "BLEED." The ever-evolving nomad has a penchant for creating intricately-woven designs that feel simultaneously apocalyptic and spiritual. In our interview last year, Gao told me that he loves world-building and reading about fiction that otherwise would not occur in reality. His persistent interest in other forms of entertainment is understandable given our current climate.

Despite this, Gao's music rarely shies away from dealing with reality in a jarringly candid way. From a stylistic standpoint, "BLEED" is unlike anything the multi-talented songwriter and producer has done before. After trudging through eerie sludge in the first 30 seconds of subterranean drum pattern, Gao increases the pace of the instrumental, and provides a fatalistic tale about toxic work places and the soulless capitalist machine that conditions us to provide faceless labor in order to solidify our worth-"N****s are just slipping off of buildings for a quick escape." It almost feels like you're dancing through hell, as a high-strung drum pattern and glitchy samples dictate the landscape.

By the time the third act roles around, when the manic pace is exchanged for somber and layered reflection, Gao-like all of us-reenters the sludge of reality.