The Internet's Ego Death Is A Modern Document For How The Group Dynamic Can Work
The amorphous and free from soul album provides an aspirational model for how to do it together
Tristan Young @talltristan
One could argue that Syd, the defacto avatar of The Internet’s group identity, should just be a solo artist. She is emblematic of a great many progressive and cultural shifts that have democratized, if not financial control, then at least representation within music. Being a female person of color, a member of the LGQBT community, and- most importantly- an insanely talented writer and producer, Syd should be a qualitative standard barer of what a modern pop star can be. And yet, despite her releasing solo material, The Internet persists. They have thrived even, with each new album asserting themselves more and more as a central voice in the conversation of soul, funk, R&B and hip hop. Rather than pull a Beyoncé or Timberlake (not that there is anything inherently wrong with that), Syd has avoided pursuant interests in singular stardom to remain within the hive mind. It is fitting that Ego Death, The Internet’s 2015 album that marked the full blossoming of their communal spirit, became one of the best documents of the last decade for how a modern act full of diverse members could operate with harmonious unity.
Formed by Syd and Matt Martians back in 2011 as an Odd Future side project of sorts, The Internet has adopted Steve Lacy, Patrick Paige, and Christopher Smith as core members. Nearly all of them have released a solo project since the group’s formal inception. While they all have merits in their own right- Matt Martian’s Drum Chord Theory in particular is great- it’s as a collective that their talents shine the most. Ego Death was the definitive example of how their dynamic, one with shifting emphasis on each member’s contributions, brought out the best in them.
Syd is the ostensible leader of the group, sure. This sentiment is touched upon on in the track ‘Under Control’, where she is essentially assuring them all that they can indeed pull this off. Certain structural and semantic requirements necessitate her (or at least someone) filling the lead vocalist role. She suits it well with a nonchalant confidence that is codified through empathetic and alluring delicacy. Her wispy voice and words obscured by seductive haze creates for mildly psychedelic after hours vibes in tracks like ‘For The World’, ‘Penthouse Cloud’ and ‘Girl’. Yet she can also switch her verve and tenor towards lecturing, and even firm intimidation. Her blithely frustrated snarls, “now she wants to fuck with me”, in ‘Get Away’ give the track a fascinatingly confrontational personality. ‘Just Saying/I Tried’ starts off with rapid fire and sharply enunciated domineering, “I don’t even want you, can’t believe I wrote another song about you”. In the shimmering and boldly graceful ‘Something’s Missing’, Syd bellies a rousing elegance befitting of true soul royalty.
Any album with Syd at the helm could rightly acquiesce to her sole vocal authority; however, Ego Death makes ample space for other voices to be heard and the album is better for it. The final track ‘Palace/Curse’ has Syd duelling with Odd Future patriarch Tyler, The Creator for a girl’s affection. The conclusive outro is all curtesy of Steve Lacy. Internet collaborator Durand Ferebee Jr. provides vocals for the down tempo funk back end of ‘Something’s Missing’. Often it’s not even vocals that do the heavy lifting as there are ample spaces of pure instrumentation. The vividly pronounced guitar strings being picked at the end of ‘Gabby’ or the attention grabbing jolt of lucidity in the guitar solo that closes out the amorphous ‘Penthouse Cloud’ come to mind. The sparkling synthesis of chiming drum pads and decadent synth keys divines the ecstasy that Syd foreshadows even after she exits in ‘Something’s Missing’.
Beyond the contributions of the core team, featured artists are able to put their own aesthetic stamp on tracks in acutely specific terms, rather than just being inserted into a dynamic as transcribed by Syd and co. While Janelle Monáe’s vocals aren’t the centrepiece of ‘Gabby’, the track she is featured in, she does strongly impart her influence over the composition. ‘Gabby’ breaks down towards the end into a wonderful retro spin on sci fi afro-futurism, like something out of 1960s game show being broadcasted from space. It could’ve been pulled from Monáe’s Arch Android or Electric Lady and its wonderfully unique amidst the spectrum of sounds on Ego Death. The dizzying verbal gymnastics of Vic Mensa’s intro in ‘Go With It’ briefly turns Ego Death into a full on hip hop record and it’s awesome. ‘Girl’ is perhaps the most nocturnal and moody affair, almost entirely by the design of spectral and viscous synths of Kaytranada. When someone else is introduced into The Internet’s ecosystem, the core members smartly take a step back and let those contributors make their presence known.
Even the core dynamics of that ecosystem are variable to create a rotating system of the team stepping in and out of rolls. Doing so is what forms the foundational currents to the shifting ebbs and flows of the free from and wandering R&B/soul of Ego Death. Patrick Paige and Steve Lacy take turns as the driving bass players on Ego Death and the differences in their approach are starkly rendered, creating vastly different dynamics. Paige opts for a drifting and more feathered touch on the bass in tracks like ‘Under Control’ and ‘Penthouse Cloud’. Seemingly ad-libbed clusters of jazz influenced chords offer gentle nudges to the progression of the melody. ‘Go With It’ is a low key club dinger with spritely and enthused bass rhythms to that end. Lacy on the other head is either a blunt enforcer or a commanding presence. The bass in “Get Away” is a towering wave of scorched and jagged chords that is the key element in one of the albums best songs. ‘Gabby’ and ‘Something’s Missing’ are forceful and lumbering in their bass, bending the momentum and direction of the tracks to its will.
This dynamic is even carried over into their live acts, making for one of the more unique concert experiences out there. The group has been known to tour with a set list structure of playing a few Internet songs, then switching over to Syd’s solo material. After a few more core group songs it would be Matt Martian’s turn to be the star of the show. With each cycle in something akin to literal musical chairs, the team would switch roles. Paige on guitar, Syd takes the drums, Lacy is on mike for a few rounds. ‘Special Affair’ and ‘Something’s Missing’ back to back. Now here’s some new stuff that Patrick threw up on his sound cloud. You’re here to see and listen to all of them. They are all each other’s support and hype machine, in a perpetual continuum.
All of this makes for a porous and free form experience in Ego Death, one that can casually flow from interpretations of soul into jazz into hip hop, dialling up or down its compositional density. It feels like parts can be added or removed from the album with ease. Yet it is also somewhat hermetically sealed from another perspective. Nearly all of the songs were produced by Lacy, Martians, and Syd. The is an album by them, for them, about them. A lot of voices interacted with the creative process of Ego Death from its inception to its completion. In the hands of lesser artists this almost certainly would have led to a cluttered, uneven, and unfocused affair. With The Internet, we have equilibrium. It’s an equitably distributed summation of the group’s ideas, one that is casually spacious but also instrumentally intricate. It provides room for everyone to shine, and everyone to support, underlining the value in the myriad roles in such a group. It’s an endeavour that could only be successful with a deeply ingrained and mutual respect, and in an environment where egos are checked at the door. In a somewhat tautological sense, Ego Death’s very existence proves its own point.