Meaning's Edge

Last updated
Meaning's Edge
Meaning's Edge EP cover.jpg
EP by
Djrum
ReleasedNovember 22, 2024 (2024-11-22)
Genre Breakbeat, Techno, bass, [1] IDM, ambient [2]
Length32:01
Label Houndstooth
Djrum chronology
"Hard to Say" / "Tournesol"
(2019)		Meaning's Edge
(2024)		 Under Tangled Silence
(2025)
Singles from Meaning's Edge
  1. "Codex"
    Released: 26 September 2024
  2. "Frekm Pt.1"
    Released: 23 October 2024

Meaning's Edge is an extended play by English electronic music producer Djrum. The EP was released on 22 November 2024 on Houndstooth Records (owned by Fabric).

Contents

Background

Aside from collaboration and remix work, Meaning's Edge was Djrum's first release since 2019 (excluding his re-mix of "Ganzfield" by Objekt). [1] Beginning with his 2018 release Portrait with Firewood, Djrum had been using more recorded instrumentation in his music, [3] which continued into the writing of Meaning's Edge.

Musical style, composition and production

As with much of Djrum's previous work, much of the EP's composition was rooted in personal, emotional and introspective themes alongside more harsh rave music styles including complex breakbeats and harsh basses. [4]

Djrum used a wide range of instrumentation on the EP, and made particular use of several types of flute namely the bansuri, shakuhachi and traditional western. [1] Djrum's improvisational approach to musical composition continued on this EP, with both "Frekm, Pt. 1" and "Frekm, Pt. 2" being derived from the same flute improvisational line. [5] In addition to the flute, other live instrumentation included violin, hand drums and chimes. [1] [4] The hand drums in particular were noted for their similarities to Tanzanian singeli music. [1] [6]

Both "Codex" and "Frekm, Pt. 1" are the first track in their respective pairs. Djrum stated that this often arises from his production process as he tends to produce a significant amount of material as he's working which does not always fit into a single track. [5]

Release, promotion, marketing

Lead single "Codex" was released on 26 September 2024 to promote the release of the EP. [7] The track was described as complex [4] and "squirrely", [8] and was received well by critics. [9] [10] The follow-up single "Frekm, Pt.1" was released on 23 October 2024. [11]

The full EP was released on 22 November 2024 as a digital download and 12" Vinyl EP. [12]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [13] 7.3/10
Review scores
SourceRating
Pitchfork [4] 8.3/10

The EP received favorable reviews from critics, with Philip Sherburne of Pitchfork praising the production standard and influences shown on the record. It was featured as part of the publication's "best new music" category. [4] Rob McCallum of DJ Mag described Meaning's Edge as "intricate and beautiful". [2]

Lead single "Codex" was featured by both DJ Mag and The New York Times as one of the top songs of 2024. [9] [10]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Felix Manuel.

No.TitleLength
1."Codex"06:46
2."Codex, Pt. 2"01:59
3."Crawl"08:17
4."Frekm, Pt. 1"06:45
5."Frekm, Pt.2"08:12
Total length:32:01

Personnel

Technical personnel

Charts

Chart (2024)Peak
position
UK Album Downloads (OCC) [14] 15
UK Dance Albums (OCC) [15] 2

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Markowitz, Douglas (19 December 2024). "Djrum - Meaning's Edge · Single Review ⟋ RA". Resident Advisor . Retrieved 2025-07-11.
  2. 1 2 McCallum, Rob (2024-11-22). "Djrum - Meaning's Edge". DJ Mag . Retrieved 2025-07-14.
  3. ↑ "How the visceral poetry of performance artist Marina Abramovic inspires Djrum's new LP Portrait With Firewood". The Vinyl Factory . 16 August 2018. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Sherburne, Philip (25 November 2024). "Djrum: Meaning's Edge EP". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2025-07-11.
  5. 1 2 Trusspublished, Si (2025-03-23). ""I'm always starting up sessions and not finishing them, but I don't see that as unproductive": Virtuosic UK producer Djrum talks creativity and making Frekm Pt.2". MusicRadar . Retrieved 2025-07-11.
  6. ↑ Ingram, Niamh (28 September 2024). "Djrum announces first release since 2019, 'Meaning's Edge'". Mixmag . Retrieved 2025-07-11.
  7. ↑ "DjRUM to share first solo release since 2019, Meanings Edge · News ⟋ RA". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
  8. ↑ "Djrum, "Meaning's Edge"". Bandcamp Daily. 2024-11-25. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
  9. 1 2 Pareles, Jon; Caramanica, Jon; Zoladz, Lindsay (2024-12-09). "Best Songs of 2024". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-07-14.
  10. 1 2 "DJ Mag's top tracks of 2024". DJ Mag. 2024-12-18. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
  11. ↑ "Frekm, Pt. 1". Spotify . Retrieved 2025-07-14.
  12. 1 2 "Meaning's Edge, by Djrum". Djrum. Retrieved 2025-07-11.
  13. ↑ Meaning's Edge - Djrum | Album | AllMusic , retrieved 2025-07-11
  14. ↑ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  15. ↑ "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.