WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.759 So picture this, it's the year 2000. Right. And 00:00:03.759 --> 00:00:06.480 if you're looking at like the top 15 tracks on 00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:08.679 the national dance charts, you'd probably expect 00:00:08.679 --> 00:00:11.919 a very specific kind of vibe, you know? Oh, absolutely. 00:00:12.519 --> 00:00:15.640 Like neon soaked, polished club anthems. Exactly. 00:00:15.880 --> 00:00:18.460 Glittering synthesizers, upbeat vocal hooks, 00:00:18.579 --> 00:00:20.780 the stuff designed to keep a mainstream party 00:00:20.780 --> 00:00:24.460 going until like sunrise. Yeah, that Y2K pop 00:00:24.460 --> 00:00:27.100 era sound. Right. But sitting right there at 00:00:27.100 --> 00:00:30.089 number 15 was a record called Escape. to reality. 00:00:30.269 --> 00:00:32.630 Which is just wild. It really is, because it 00:00:32.630 --> 00:00:34.890 was not shimmering. And it was definitely not 00:00:34.890 --> 00:00:39.609 upbeat. It was this brutal, aggressively dark, 00:00:39.990 --> 00:00:42.409 electro -industrial album. From a totally secret 00:00:42.409 --> 00:00:44.890 underground side project, no less. Yeah. Built 00:00:44.890 --> 00:00:47.850 entirely on like... uncompromising mechanical 00:00:47.850 --> 00:00:50.630 aggression, provocative lyrics, and a soundscape 00:00:50.630 --> 00:00:53.350 that felt way more like a, I don't know, a dystopian 00:00:53.350 --> 00:00:55.609 factory than a standard nightclub. It really 00:00:55.609 --> 00:00:57.609 challenges your assumptions, doesn't it? Finding 00:00:57.609 --> 00:00:59.570 something like that on a top dance releases list 00:00:59.570 --> 00:01:01.890 is one of those brilliant historical anomalies. 00:01:02.250 --> 00:01:04.409 It just forces you to rethink how underground 00:01:04.409 --> 00:01:07.390 genres actually operate. It totally does. And 00:01:07.390 --> 00:01:10.049 that is exactly our mission for today's Deep 00:01:10.049 --> 00:01:13.140 Dive. Welcome everyone! Today we're taking a 00:01:13.140 --> 00:01:15.659 fascinating look into a Wikipedia article detailing 00:01:15.659 --> 00:01:18.719 the history of a 1990s electro -industrial music 00:01:18.719 --> 00:01:21.739 project called DIN -5. a really unique project. 00:01:22.060 --> 00:01:25.219 For sure. Our goal is to map out how a solo spinoff 00:01:25.219 --> 00:01:27.239 project, one that was born out on the West Coast 00:01:27.239 --> 00:01:30.400 in San Francisco, managed to evolve into a charting 00:01:30.400 --> 00:01:33.219 powerhouse. We're going to look at how it successfully 00:01:33.219 --> 00:01:36.519 bridged the gap between raw, abrasive underground 00:01:36.519 --> 00:01:39.659 sounds and actual dance floors. And maybe more 00:01:39.659 --> 00:01:42.459 importantly, how it preserved a legacy that stretches 00:01:42.459 --> 00:01:44.939 seamlessly right into our modern digital age. 00:01:45.079 --> 00:01:47.140 OK, let's untack this. Because to understand 00:01:47.140 --> 00:01:49.640 the sheer unlikelihood of that trajectory, we 00:01:49.640 --> 00:01:51.049 really We really have to anchor ourselves in 00:01:51.049 --> 00:01:53.430 the era, right? We're talking 1990. Yeah, 1990 00:01:53.430 --> 00:01:56.890 is a crucial year. The 1980s synth pop era has 00:01:56.890 --> 00:01:58.870 essentially fractured at this point. Right. And 00:01:58.870 --> 00:02:00.969 in the electronic underground, the aesthetic 00:02:00.969 --> 00:02:04.049 is turning much colder and significantly harder. 00:02:04.269 --> 00:02:06.450 We're seeing the rise of that really complex 00:02:06.450 --> 00:02:09.719 hardware -driven electro -industrial music. Exactly. 00:02:10.300 --> 00:02:12.340 And producing this sound, I mean, it required 00:02:12.340 --> 00:02:14.879 a massive amount of technical proficiency. You 00:02:14.879 --> 00:02:17.419 were programming hardware sequencers, manipulating 00:02:17.419 --> 00:02:20.500 raw samplers, layering heavily distorted textures. 00:02:20.580 --> 00:02:22.319 It wasn't just downloading a software plugin. 00:02:22.479 --> 00:02:24.379 Oh, definitely not. It wasn't something you just 00:02:24.379 --> 00:02:26.819 stumbled into. It required a very deliberate, 00:02:27.139 --> 00:02:30.000 almost obsessive vision. And the origin story 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:32.719 of that vision here is incredibly compelling, 00:02:33.139 --> 00:02:35.680 especially if you love tracking how underground 00:02:35.680 --> 00:02:40.270 art incubates. DIN -5, which by the way the source 00:02:40.270 --> 00:02:42.590 notes is sometimes stylized with a capital DNF 00:02:42.590 --> 00:02:46.379 or occasionally all lowercase with an underscore, 00:02:47.000 --> 00:02:49.840 was founded in San Francisco in 1990. It was 00:02:49.840 --> 00:02:52.400 the solo music project of a composer named David 00:02:52.400 --> 00:02:55.699 Dinn, who also goes by Day 5 Dinn, using a number 00:02:55.699 --> 00:02:57.840 five right in the middle of his first name. Very 00:02:57.840 --> 00:03:00.539 industrial. Yeah, very on brand. But David Dinn 00:03:00.539 --> 00:03:02.659 wasn't some newcomer trying to break into the 00:03:02.659 --> 00:03:05.599 scene. He was already highly active. He was a 00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:07.759 frequent member of a Boston based industrial 00:03:07.759 --> 00:03:10.379 music duo called Informatic. Right, Informatic. 00:03:10.460 --> 00:03:12.599 So Dinn 5 was constructed specifically to be 00:03:12.599 --> 00:03:16.210 a spinoff. A dedicated solo outlet completely 00:03:16.210 --> 00:03:18.889 separate from his main gig over on the East Coast. 00:03:19.009 --> 00:03:21.469 What's fascinating here is the geography. That 00:03:21.469 --> 00:03:24.050 is a massive indicator of the project's psychological 00:03:24.050 --> 00:03:27.110 purpose. How so? Well, Boston and San Francisco 00:03:27.110 --> 00:03:31.250 in 1990 represented two entirely different creative 00:03:31.250 --> 00:03:33.729 wavelengths. I mean, Boston had a very established, 00:03:34.430 --> 00:03:37.530 rigorous, collegiate, and alternative music infrastructure. 00:03:37.810 --> 00:03:40.770 Right. Very structured. Exactly. And Informatic, 00:03:41.110 --> 00:03:44.819 as a duo. would naturally develop a defined sonic 00:03:44.819 --> 00:03:47.659 signature within that specific East Coast scene. 00:03:48.180 --> 00:03:51.430 When you operate in a duo, Your output is intrinsically 00:03:51.430 --> 00:03:53.810 collaborative. It's a negotiation of styles. 00:03:54.590 --> 00:03:56.569 It makes me think of an analogy like imagine 00:03:56.569 --> 00:03:58.849 a chef working within the strict collaborative 00:03:58.849 --> 00:04:01.650 menu of a very famous, highly respected Boston 00:04:01.650 --> 00:04:03.710 restaurant. Let's call the restaurant Informatic. 00:04:03.729 --> 00:04:05.930 I like this. Right. So you have protocols, you 00:04:05.930 --> 00:04:07.750 have a partner you have to sync up with, and 00:04:07.750 --> 00:04:10.150 there is a very specific expectation from your 00:04:10.150 --> 00:04:12.569 regular customers. But as an artist, you have 00:04:12.569 --> 00:04:15.289 this braining, uncompromising idea that just 00:04:15.289 --> 00:04:17.389 doesn't fit the restaurant's aesthetic. So what 00:04:17.389 --> 00:04:19.779 do you do? You secretly fly across country to 00:04:19.779 --> 00:04:22.879 San Francisco, you open a highly experimental, 00:04:23.180 --> 00:04:26.300 deeply personal pop -up food truck just to see 00:04:26.300 --> 00:04:28.259 what happens when nobody's looking over your 00:04:28.259 --> 00:04:30.300 shoulder. That is a perfect way to look at it. 00:04:30.410 --> 00:04:33.050 because that isolation is the essential ingredient 00:04:33.050 --> 00:04:35.629 for this kind of genre. San Francisco in the 00:04:35.629 --> 00:04:38.910 early 90s was just a legendary incubator for 00:04:38.910 --> 00:04:41.750 radical, boundary -pushing subcultures. Oh, absolutely. 00:04:41.889 --> 00:04:44.350 So establishing DIN -5 out there allowed David 00:04:44.350 --> 00:04:46.769 DIN to claim a completely independent, creative 00:04:46.769 --> 00:04:49.730 territory. An artist who is already successful 00:04:49.730 --> 00:04:52.509 in a collaborative environment often desperately 00:04:52.509 --> 00:04:56.050 needs that unregulated space to explore unfiltered 00:04:56.050 --> 00:04:58.370 ideas. Just to strip away the compromise. Exactly. 00:04:58.589 --> 00:05:01.180 And in electroindustry, music, those ideas are 00:05:01.180 --> 00:05:03.959 often deeply personal. They deal with technological 00:05:03.959 --> 00:05:06.800 alienation or harsh psychological realities. 00:05:07.079 --> 00:05:10.180 Themes that might be like way too dense or abrasive 00:05:10.180 --> 00:05:12.800 to force into a collaborative duo's established 00:05:12.800 --> 00:05:15.600 sound. Precisely. And the actual output certainly 00:05:15.600 --> 00:05:17.779 validates that theory of abrasive isolation. 00:05:18.040 --> 00:05:20.740 So we have this rogue solo project brewing in 00:05:20.740 --> 00:05:23.339 San Francisco. The next logical question is the 00:05:23.339 --> 00:05:25.399 distribution mechanism. Right, how do you get 00:05:25.399 --> 00:05:28.199 it out there? Exactly. How does a secret garage 00:05:28.199 --> 00:05:30.779 project actually reach its target demographic 00:05:30.779 --> 00:05:33.990 in the pre -internet era. According to our sources, 00:05:34.389 --> 00:05:37.529 the very first solo composition for DIN -5 was 00:05:37.529 --> 00:05:40.810 a track with the incredibly bleak title, Terminal 00:05:40.810 --> 00:05:43.129 Condition. Terminal Condition. Yeah, that sets 00:05:43.129 --> 00:05:45.810 the mood. It really does. And rather than dropping 00:05:45.810 --> 00:05:49.410 a full album, this track debuted on two mid -90s 00:05:49.410 --> 00:05:52.110 compilation albums. First, it showed up on a 00:05:52.110 --> 00:05:54.829 release called There Is No Time by the Roz Duva 00:05:54.829 --> 00:05:58.189 label in 1994. OK. And then a year later, in 00:05:58.189 --> 00:06:00.870 1995, it appeared on another compilation released 00:06:00.870 --> 00:06:03.610 by Arts Industria. Now the title of that 1995 00:06:03.610 --> 00:06:05.850 compilation really reveals everything you need 00:06:05.850 --> 00:06:08.389 to know about the subculture's aesthetic at the 00:06:08.389 --> 00:06:10.149 time. Here's where it gets really interesting, 00:06:10.250 --> 00:06:13.129 because the 1995 compilation was literally called 00:06:13.129 --> 00:06:16.310 The Art of Brutality. Wow. Right. Having a solo 00:06:16.310 --> 00:06:18.449 track called Terminal Condition featured on an 00:06:18.449 --> 00:06:21.170 album named The Art of Brutality is just flawless 00:06:21.170 --> 00:06:23.610 branding for the mid -90s electro -industrial 00:06:23.610 --> 00:06:26.329 scene. It's perfect. It signals this immediate 00:06:26.329 --> 00:06:29.250 unyielding darkness. There's no attempt to soften 00:06:29.250 --> 00:06:31.709 the edges for a mainstream listener at all. No. 00:06:31.769 --> 00:06:34.589 None. And if we connect this to the bigger picture, 00:06:35.149 --> 00:06:38.410 it operates as a highly specific cultural filter. 00:06:38.910 --> 00:06:40.589 I mean, think about how it works today. With 00:06:40.589 --> 00:06:43.870 algorithms, you mean? Right. Today, niche discovery 00:06:43.870 --> 00:06:46.269 is handled by algorithmic streaming recommendations. 00:06:46.889 --> 00:06:49.170 If you listen to one dark electronic artist, 00:06:49.649 --> 00:06:51.810 the platform automatically feeds you 10 more. 00:06:52.610 --> 00:06:57.350 But in 1994, Physical compilation CDs and cassettes 00:06:57.350 --> 00:06:59.670 were the algorithmic playlists. That's a great 00:06:59.670 --> 00:07:02.529 point. They were the discovery engine. Exactly. 00:07:02.970 --> 00:07:05.490 Independent labels like Rosdiva and Arts Industria 00:07:05.490 --> 00:07:08.550 acted as vital tastemakers. They would curate 00:07:08.550 --> 00:07:11.269 these massive multi -artist compilations and 00:07:11.269 --> 00:07:13.709 distribute them to specialized independent record 00:07:13.709 --> 00:07:15.490 stores. Which means the listener was already 00:07:15.490 --> 00:07:18.250 doing half the work. Exactly. The person physically 00:07:18.250 --> 00:07:20.370 flipping through the bins to buy a CD called 00:07:20.370 --> 00:07:23.110 The Art of Brutality is actively seeking out 00:07:23.110 --> 00:07:26.160 uncompromising har - mechanical music. They are 00:07:26.160 --> 00:07:28.699 essentially opting into the exact sonic palette 00:07:28.699 --> 00:07:31.079 David Dinn was experimenting with. Right. By 00:07:31.079 --> 00:07:33.040 placing terminal condition on those specific 00:07:33.040 --> 00:07:36.680 compilations, Dinn 4 completely bypassed traditional 00:07:36.680 --> 00:07:39.699 music gatekeepers. No radio DJs to convince. 00:07:40.160 --> 00:07:42.800 None. The track was injected directly into the 00:07:42.800 --> 00:07:45.379 veins of an audience that was primed for that 00:07:45.379 --> 00:07:48.370 exact level of intensity. Compilations were the 00:07:48.370 --> 00:07:52.170 perfect low -risk incubator for an unproven spinoff 00:07:52.170 --> 00:07:54.290 project. Because it let him test the waters. 00:07:54.730 --> 00:07:57.889 Exactly. Build underground credibility, generate 00:07:57.889 --> 00:08:00.449 enough word -of -mouth momentum to actually justify 00:08:00.449 --> 00:08:02.769 the immense effort of producing a full -length 00:08:02.769 --> 00:08:05.649 solo record. And that momentum clearly paid off. 00:08:06.149 --> 00:08:08.569 Because the source text shows David Dinn delivering 00:08:08.569 --> 00:08:12.430 exactly that. In 1995, he releases the debut 00:08:12.430 --> 00:08:15.689 studio album under the DIN -5 moniker. It was 00:08:15.689 --> 00:08:18.649 titled Infinity, and it came out on Sinless Records. 00:08:18.769 --> 00:08:21.410 Infinity, okay. Yeah. And the sources highlight 00:08:21.410 --> 00:08:24.230 that this album represented a, quote, return 00:08:24.230 --> 00:08:26.970 to electro -based music, end quote. They also 00:08:26.970 --> 00:08:28.829 mentioned that critics compared it favorably 00:08:28.829 --> 00:08:31.449 to Informatics' first album. Okay. But I actually 00:08:31.449 --> 00:08:33.730 want to push back on a specific phrasing in the 00:08:33.730 --> 00:08:36.090 source text here. I'm here. Calling a debut solo 00:08:36.090 --> 00:08:38.490 album a return to electro -based music feels 00:08:38.490 --> 00:08:41.039 a little paradoxical. How so? Well, if Din 5 00:08:41.039 --> 00:08:43.539 is a brand new ground -up project, it doesn't 00:08:43.539 --> 00:08:45.879 really have a past to return to, right? Isn't 00:08:45.879 --> 00:08:49.179 this more like a sci -fi novelist who's been 00:08:49.179 --> 00:08:51.899 co -authoring fantasy books for years, finally 00:08:51.899 --> 00:08:54.340 writing the hardcore sci -fi book they've always 00:08:54.340 --> 00:08:56.600 dreamed of? Dropping the compromises? Exactly. 00:08:56.779 --> 00:08:59.440 Dropping the compromises of their past co -authorships. 00:08:59.940 --> 00:09:02.840 It isn't a return to a previous era for the project. 00:09:03.080 --> 00:09:06.379 It's a distillation of David Din's core artistic 00:09:06.379 --> 00:09:09.919 identity. He's finally making the pure electro 00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:11.860 -industrial record he's always had in his head. 00:09:12.120 --> 00:09:14.159 This raises an important question, actually, 00:09:14.600 --> 00:09:16.539 because you are identifying a crucial distinction 00:09:16.539 --> 00:09:19.059 between the brand and the creator. Right. For 00:09:19.059 --> 00:09:21.940 Din 5, the entity, infinity is genesis. It's 00:09:21.940 --> 00:09:24.240 a beginning. But for David Din, the composer, 00:09:24.480 --> 00:09:28.460 it represents a pivot back to foundational. unadulterated 00:09:28.460 --> 00:09:31.940 electronic body music or EBM roots. Oh, OK. That 00:09:31.940 --> 00:09:33.899 makes sense. Yeah, it's highly likely that his 00:09:33.899 --> 00:09:35.779 work in Informatic was drifting toward different 00:09:35.779 --> 00:09:38.620 textures, perhaps more vocal heavy or atmospherically 00:09:38.620 --> 00:09:41.639 divergent. So Infinity was the mechanism to anchor 00:09:41.639 --> 00:09:44.279 himself back into the raw, sequenced, electro 00:09:44.279 --> 00:09:46.600 based architecture that defined the early scene. 00:09:46.980 --> 00:09:50.559 Which makes the favorable comparisons to Informatic's 00:09:50.559 --> 00:09:53.899 first album incredibly significant. I mean, if 00:09:53.899 --> 00:09:56.539 I'm an artist launching a spinoff, my absolute 00:09:56.539 --> 00:09:58.899 worst fear is that the core audience views it 00:09:58.899 --> 00:10:01.100 as a vanity project. Oh, yeah. Like it's just 00:10:01.100 --> 00:10:03.179 filled with discarded b -sides that weren't good 00:10:03.179 --> 00:10:04.840 enough for the main band. Exactly. You don't 00:10:04.840 --> 00:10:06.659 want to be the lesser version of your own band. 00:10:07.059 --> 00:10:09.860 No. Favorable critical comparison is the ultimate 00:10:09.860 --> 00:10:13.250 validation. It definitively proves the solo venture 00:10:13.250 --> 00:10:16.409 was an artistic necessity, not an indulgence. 00:10:16.649 --> 00:10:18.690 And the industry response really confirms this 00:10:18.690 --> 00:10:20.750 almost instantaneously, right? Oh, absolutely. 00:10:21.250 --> 00:10:24.110 Metropolis Records, which was an absolute titan 00:10:24.110 --> 00:10:26.870 in the industrial music space at the time, quickly 00:10:26.870 --> 00:10:30.250 adopted DIN -5 onto its roster. Wow, Metropolis, 00:10:30.330 --> 00:10:33.389 that's huge. Yeah, they actually took that 1995 00:10:33.389 --> 00:10:36.389 debut, Infinity, and reissued it under their 00:10:36.389 --> 00:10:39.779 own banner just one year later. in 1996. That 00:10:39.779 --> 00:10:42.440 logistical shift is massive. Metropolis stepping 00:10:42.440 --> 00:10:44.860 in isn't just a pat on the back. No, it means 00:10:44.860 --> 00:10:47.700 greater distribution, better physical availability 00:10:47.700 --> 00:10:51.379 in stores. And it sends a signal to the entire 00:10:51.379 --> 00:10:54.220 goth industrial subculture that this project 00:10:54.220 --> 00:10:57.019 is top tier. So the debut is a certified success 00:10:57.019 --> 00:10:59.700 and the underground foundation is rock solid. 00:10:59.980 --> 00:11:02.759 Right. But as we move toward the late 90s, the 00:11:02.759 --> 00:11:05.059 project has a choice to make, right? Stagnate 00:11:05.059 --> 00:11:08.500 or evolve. And this is where DIN -5 makes a fascinating 00:11:08.500 --> 00:11:11.460 leap toward the club scene. Which is tricky. 00:11:12.060 --> 00:11:15.080 Moving from the raw experimentation of infinity 00:11:15.080 --> 00:11:17.539 into a space that commands physical movement 00:11:17.539 --> 00:11:20.620 is a notoriously difficult transition for industrial 00:11:20.620 --> 00:11:23.179 artists. Because you risk alienating the purists 00:11:23.179 --> 00:11:25.240 if you polish the sound too much. Exactly, you 00:11:25.240 --> 00:11:28.590 lose the grit. Yet in the year 2000, DIN -5 releases 00:11:28.590 --> 00:11:31.750 its second studio album, Escape to Reality, again 00:11:31.750 --> 00:11:34.210 on Metropolis Records. And according to our sources, 00:11:34.450 --> 00:11:36.509 this is where the project peaks commercially. 00:11:36.570 --> 00:11:38.350 Right, this is the one that hit the charts. Yeah, 00:11:38.409 --> 00:11:41.669 the album hits number 15 on CMJ's top dance releases, 00:11:42.289 --> 00:11:44.590 and the reviews commend it for featuring provocative 00:11:44.590 --> 00:11:47.309 lyrics and intense music. Which is a juxtaposition. 00:11:47.710 --> 00:11:50.590 Exactly. So what does this all mean? We really 00:11:50.590 --> 00:11:53.409 need to bridge this gap. Because if I hear intense 00:11:53.409 --> 00:11:56.309 music with provocative lyrics, my brain does 00:11:56.309 --> 00:11:59.570 not immediately jump to top 20 dance hit. No, 00:11:59.570 --> 00:12:01.649 it really doesn't. How does a descendant of the 00:12:01.649 --> 00:12:04.250 art of brutality penetrate the dance charts at 00:12:04.250 --> 00:12:07.129 the height of the Y2K pop era? Well, to bridge 00:12:07.129 --> 00:12:10.250 that gap, we first have to clarify what charting 00:12:10.250 --> 00:12:12.950 actually meant in this specific context. The 00:12:12.950 --> 00:12:16.000 CMJ, the college media journal, Was the definitive 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:18.840 tracking mechanism for alternative college and 00:12:18.840 --> 00:12:21.679 underground radio and club play Okay, so it wasn't 00:12:21.679 --> 00:12:24.720 tracking mainstream pop clubs in Miami or Ibiza, 00:12:24.720 --> 00:12:27.059 right? Exactly. It was aggregating data from 00:12:27.059 --> 00:12:30.340 a massive parallel ecosystem of alternative venues 00:12:30.340 --> 00:12:33.799 across North America Got it. So the Gotham Industrial 00:12:33.799 --> 00:12:36.379 Club scene in 2000 was actually volumous enough 00:12:36.379 --> 00:12:39.000 to drive a brutally dark record to the top 15 00:12:39.000 --> 00:12:42.159 of a national dance tracking chart. That is staggering. 00:12:42.340 --> 00:12:44.539 It is entirely self -sustaining. But charting 00:12:44.539 --> 00:12:46.720 still required a specific sonic architecture. 00:12:47.120 --> 00:12:49.279 And this is where the brilliance of electro -industrial 00:12:49.279 --> 00:12:52.080 mechanics really comes into play. How so? Well, 00:12:52.100 --> 00:12:54.320 the aesthetic overlay is dark, right? Distorted 00:12:54.320 --> 00:12:57.940 vocals, themes of technological dread. But the 00:12:57.940 --> 00:13:00.440 skeletal structure of the music is fundamentally 00:13:00.440 --> 00:13:02.940 rhythm driven. Ah, so beneath the distortion 00:13:02.940 --> 00:13:06.360 there's a groove. Exactly. It is built on relentless, 00:13:07.059 --> 00:13:09.960 mathematically precise sequencer patterns and 00:13:09.960 --> 00:13:13.100 deeply physical bass lines. If the BPM is locked 00:13:13.100 --> 00:13:15.940 in and the production hits hard enough on a club 00:13:15.940 --> 00:13:19.139 sound system, the intensity of the track actually 00:13:19.139 --> 00:13:21.279 becomes the fuel for the dance floor. But that 00:13:21.279 --> 00:13:23.740 makes so much sense, and there is a heavy philosophical 00:13:23.740 --> 00:13:25.799 irony embedded right in the title of the album, 00:13:26.059 --> 00:13:28.860 too. Escape to reality? Oh yes. Because the traditional 00:13:28.860 --> 00:13:31.559 utility of dance music is escapism. You go to 00:13:31.559 --> 00:13:33.759 a club to numb yourself, to forget the crushing 00:13:33.759 --> 00:13:36.419 weight of your job, to ignore the news. Dance 00:13:36.419 --> 00:13:38.779 music usually invites you to escape from reality. 00:13:38.919 --> 00:13:41.460 But David Dinn completely inverts that utility. 00:13:41.960 --> 00:13:44.360 He is weaponizing the infectious driving rhythm 00:13:44.360 --> 00:13:47.059 of dance music to lock the listener in, and then 00:13:47.059 --> 00:13:49.539 using the provocative lyrics and intense atmosphere 00:13:49.539 --> 00:14:02.269 to force He essentially built a Trojan horse. 00:14:02.490 --> 00:14:05.759 Exactly. He took dense confrontational art, wrapped 00:14:05.759 --> 00:14:08.460 it in a flawless club rhythm, and deployed it 00:14:08.460 --> 00:14:11.360 directly onto the dance floor. It's a masterful 00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:13.720 evolution from the garage experimentation of 00:14:13.720 --> 00:14:16.559 the early 90s. It really is. But the music industry 00:14:16.559 --> 00:14:19.659 in 2000 was standing on a precipice. The CD era 00:14:19.659 --> 00:14:22.159 was peaking, and the digital revolution was about 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:24.740 to completely dismantle physical media distribution. 00:14:24.820 --> 00:14:26.820 Which is devastating for a lot of bands. Right. 00:14:26.899 --> 00:14:29.559 Which raises a vital question for a project so 00:14:29.559 --> 00:14:32.480 deeply tied to physical compilations and CD. 00:14:32.330 --> 00:14:36.690 reissues. How does an analog era industrial project 00:14:36.690 --> 00:14:39.870 survive the transition to a purely digital landscape? 00:14:40.330 --> 00:14:42.850 Survival in that digital transition usually comes 00:14:42.850 --> 00:14:44.990 down to the timelessness of the original source 00:14:44.990 --> 00:14:47.870 material. Music that relied heavily on superficial 00:14:47.870 --> 00:14:50.870 trends from the year 2000 aged incredibly poorly 00:14:50.870 --> 00:14:53.090 when transferred to digital streaming platforms. 00:14:53.490 --> 00:14:55.629 But our sources reveal a timeline that proves 00:14:55.629 --> 00:14:58.649 DIN -5 avoided that trap entirely. The story 00:14:58.649 --> 00:15:02.149 doesn't end with the CMJ charts in 2000. Fast 00:15:02.149 --> 00:15:05.470 forward to 2009, and Metropolis Records reissues 00:15:05.470 --> 00:15:07.830 that debut album, Infinity, once again. Which 00:15:07.830 --> 00:15:10.269 is already impressive. And then, a full decade 00:15:10.269 --> 00:15:13.649 later in 2019, Metropolis reissues both studio 00:15:13.649 --> 00:15:16.870 albums, Infinity, and Escape to Reality as digital 00:15:16.870 --> 00:15:19.429 downloads on Bandcamp. You know, the loyalty 00:15:19.429 --> 00:15:22.070 of Metropolis Records here cannot be overstated. 00:15:22.110 --> 00:15:24.470 It's pretty rare, isn't it? Extraordinarily rare. 00:15:24.830 --> 00:15:26.889 Maintaining an active relationship with a solo 00:15:26.889 --> 00:15:30.509 side project from a 1996 reissue, carrying it 00:15:30.509 --> 00:15:32.289 through the total collapse of the physical CD 00:15:32.289 --> 00:15:34.850 market, and then actively resurrecting it for 00:15:34.850 --> 00:15:38.169 a new generation on Bandcamp in 2019. labels 00:15:38.169 --> 00:15:40.610 usually just abandon inactive projects to write 00:15:40.610 --> 00:15:42.509 off the losses. The fact that they didn't suggest 00:15:42.509 --> 00:15:44.730 those records are viewed as foundational texts 00:15:44.730 --> 00:15:47.070 rather than ephemeral releases. Exactly. It's 00:15:47.070 --> 00:15:49.250 kind of like uncovering a heavy metal time capsule 00:15:49.250 --> 00:15:52.070 from the 1990s. You dig it up, open it, and realize 00:15:52.070 --> 00:15:54.850 the futuristic machinery inside still powers 00:15:54.850 --> 00:15:57.250 on perfectly for a new generation. That's a great 00:15:57.250 --> 00:15:58.950 way to look at it because the engineering is 00:15:58.950 --> 00:16:01.210 so brilliant that it doesn't need to be updated. 00:16:01.350 --> 00:16:04.149 You just plug it directly into a modern digital 00:16:04.149 --> 00:16:06.610 grid. And the themes hold up to the themes of 00:16:06.610 --> 00:16:08.690 technological isolation and mechanical dread 00:16:08.690 --> 00:16:12.169 that David Dinn explored in 1995 arguably resonate 00:16:12.169 --> 00:16:15.289 even more profoundly with the 2019 audience living 00:16:15.289 --> 00:16:18.450 in a hyper connected algorithm driven society. 00:16:18.710 --> 00:16:21.850 Absolutely. The delivery method changed from 00:16:21.850 --> 00:16:25.429 a plastic CD case to a Bandcamp download link, 00:16:25.990 --> 00:16:28.789 but the raw impact of the music remained flawlessly 00:16:28.789 --> 00:16:31.529 intact. Which is just incredible. The project 00:16:31.529 --> 00:16:33.929 transitioned from a physical subculture artifact 00:16:33.929 --> 00:16:36.169 to a permanently accessible piece of digital 00:16:36.169 --> 00:16:38.950 history without losing an ounce of its original 00:16:38.950 --> 00:16:41.970 intensity. It's a testament to the meticulous, 00:16:41.990 --> 00:16:45.110 uncompromised vision that necessitated the solar 00:16:45.110 --> 00:16:47.429 project in the first place. It really is a phenomenal 00:16:47.429 --> 00:16:49.590 trajectory when we view it in its entirety. I 00:16:49.590 --> 00:16:51.649 mean, we tracked David Dinn from his dual -coast 00:16:51.649 --> 00:16:54.690 reality in 1990, balancing his established Boston 00:16:54.690 --> 00:16:57.850 duo with a burning need for a radical solo outlet 00:16:57.850 --> 00:17:00.529 in San Francisco. We watched him circumvent the 00:17:00.529 --> 00:17:03.860 mainstream by utilizing gritty physical compilations 00:17:03.860 --> 00:17:07.359 like the Art of Brutality to directly reach his 00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:10.579 ideal audience. Bypassing the gatekeepers. Exactly. 00:17:11.039 --> 00:17:14.119 We saw his debut album, Infinity, validate that 00:17:14.119 --> 00:17:17.380 entire solo endeavor leading to Metropolis Records 00:17:17.380 --> 00:17:20.259 elevating the project. And then the absolute 00:17:20.259 --> 00:17:22.240 brilliance of storming the alternative dance 00:17:22.240 --> 00:17:25.579 charts in 2000 with Escape to Reality weaponizing 00:17:25.579 --> 00:17:28.559 club rhythms to deliver heavy, provocative art. 00:17:28.720 --> 00:17:30.859 All leading to a digital resurrection that proves 00:17:30.859 --> 00:17:33.519 true electro industry. craftsmanship doesn't 00:17:33.519 --> 00:17:36.019 expire. It really is the definitive blueprint 00:17:36.019 --> 00:17:38.819 for how a side project can evolve into an enduring 00:17:38.819 --> 00:17:41.299 legacy, and I think it leaves us with a compelling 00:17:41.299 --> 00:17:43.539 lens to examine the creative pursuits in our 00:17:43.539 --> 00:17:45.700 own lives, too. Without a doubt, it's a vital 00:17:45.700 --> 00:17:47.960 perspective. We pour so much of our energy into 00:17:47.960 --> 00:17:50.500 our primary obligations, right? The main career, 00:17:50.680 --> 00:17:52.900 the collaborative projects, the things with established 00:17:52.900 --> 00:17:55.559 expectations, much like Informatic was for David 00:17:55.559 --> 00:17:59.000 Dimm. But consider the inherent value of the 00:17:59.000 --> 00:18:02.500 uncompromising side project. The art or the ideas 00:18:02.500 --> 00:18:05.000 you generate when you are completely isolated, 00:18:05.460 --> 00:18:08.039 free from the pressure of an audience, just tinkering 00:18:08.039 --> 00:18:10.380 in the metaphorical garage. The uncompromised 00:18:10.380 --> 00:18:13.099 space is often where the most timeless architecture 00:18:13.099 --> 00:18:16.680 is built. It really is. Sometimes those unfiltered 00:18:16.680 --> 00:18:19.420 experiments end up possessing a structural integrity 00:18:19.420 --> 00:18:22.220 that lasts for decades. So it is worth asking 00:18:22.220 --> 00:18:25.480 yourself, what hidden projects or quiet weekend 00:18:25.480 --> 00:18:28.519 obsessions in your own life might actually represent 00:18:28.519 --> 00:18:30.940 your most authentic and potentially your most 00:18:30.940 --> 00:18:34.319 enduring work. A great thought to leave on. Definitely. 00:18:34.700 --> 00:18:36.619 Thank you so much for joining us for this deep 00:18:36.619 --> 00:18:39.559 dive into the sources today. We hope this exploration 00:18:39.559 --> 00:18:42.559 of DIN -5's unique history inspires you to appreciate 00:18:42.559 --> 00:18:45.059 the intricate mechanics of the underground and 00:18:45.059 --> 00:18:47.000 reminds you that sometimes the harshest sounds 00:18:47.000 --> 00:18:49.440 can create the most compelling momentum. Absolutely. 00:18:49.539 --> 00:18:51.880 Keep analyzing the art around you, stay curious, 00:18:52.140 --> 00:18:54.039 and maybe give your own side projects a little 00:18:54.039 --> 00:18:56.440 more attention this week. We'll catch you on 00:18:56.440 --> 00:18:57.220 the next deep dive.