Blood Cultures is a headtrip whether you’re talking about their music or their music videos and “Keeps Bringing Me Back” is no exception. The song’s electro pulses are APA-approved hypnosis fodder in combination with the raspy flute loop and intensifying beat and introspective vocals and climactic finale and all the other little sonic details apparent on subsequent replays.

Speaking of hypnotic, the music video which features actor and activist Dimitri J. Moïse (pictured above) depicts a Freudian psychotherapy session complete with pocketwatch-induced hypnosis gone horribly wrong or horribly right or possibly both. And then there’s a nice little homage in there too to “Karma Police” as a bonus. If you dig this vid you may also wanna check out their videos for previous singles “Dunk On Me,” “Hard To Explain,” and “Broadcasting”—plus the “Operators Are Standing By” apocalyptic informercial series to fully delve into the heart of darkness of late night channel surfing—which are all equally thought-provoking or thought-revoking depending on where your head's at man.

Finally, when it comes to the thematics of the song and the video for “Keeps Bringing Me Back,” you're encouraged to check out Blood Cultures' official Book of Face page for a thoughtful statement on the artistic and personal reasons for keeping his/their identity shrouded up until now (plus some very cool maskwear featured on their photo feed) and for deliberate self-revelation at this point in time as a proactive political gesture, which revolves in part around the challenging realities of being a Pakistani-American coming of age in a post-9/11 America and of being a rational adult in an age of white nationalist reactionary revolution, but with the opportunity to be agent of change. (Jason Lee)

It’s hard to imagine “Dunk On Me” without the video, or the video without the song. The pairing, directed by Idle House and Blood Cultures, is outstanding. Drawn in by film grain and a wash of hazy synths and distant vocals, “Dunk On Me” abruptly rushes into a suffocating rush of clanging electronics and gothic imagery as school-age lovesickness develops into horror movie plotline in just over three-and-a-half minutes. The disjointed, experimental approach Blood Cultures takes on the track should reel you in, but with the video it’s an act that’s difficult to turn away from. Watch below. – Cameron Carr

With an appreciation for the jubilance of pop music and the willingness to explore new sounds that NYC is known for, in 2014 the city’s electronic musicians created music that could soundtrack all-night dance parties or pensive nights alone. Beshken captured that contrast best on For Time Is The Longest Distance Between Two People. The album migrates between spacious, simmering instrumental sections and buoyant, pulsing rave-ups. Overcoats played more heavily on thumping, dance-floor anthems with their debut album YOUNG, but lyrically the duo looked further than the party scene. Overcoats’ portrait of inner emotional struggles rivals the tact of many veteran pop songwriters. The electronic genre also took influence from the indie rock world. Guerilla Toss, featured on our cover this past fall, released GT Ultra, a mish-mash of post-punk, psychedelia, and electronica that’s near impossible to accurately categorize. Covering stuttering electronica in a dream pop-inspired haze, Blood Cultures’ Happy Birthday balanced the danceable with the moody. Perhaps not quite fitting into the electronic realm, Sneaks made a post-punky sophomore album using almost only a drum machine, bass guitar, and vocals to craft the expertly concise and individual It’s a Myth. To be fair, that album came out before Sneak’s Eva Moolchan moved to NYC, but since the band’s relocation we’ve proudly embraced them as our own. Belonging to the Electronic realm are also two NYC records we recently blogged about: Torres' dark and mysterious Three Futures and Standing on the Corner's avant-hip hop masterpiece, and recent Deli NYC Record of the Month, Red Burns. - Cameron Carr

Blood Cultures’ buoyantly catchy single “Indian Summer” dropped all the way back in 2013. “Indian Summer” was an electro-indie gem that gave a glimpse into Blood Cultures’ distinctive talent for poignancy and melody. It’s a style the producer/multi-instrumentalist has come to master on his debut LP, Happy Birthday.

In the four years since “Indian Summer” dropped to considerably positive reception, hype over Blood Cultures’ debut has ebbed and flowed. It’s rare for an artist not to capitalize on the type of momentum generated by a successful indie single like “Indian Summer.” And it’s even rarer for an artist to fulfill the promise of a well-received single in the way Blood Cultures does on Happy Birthday.

The album feels truly sonically coherent. Throughout, Blood Cultures riffs on the soundscape he painted in “Indian Summer” in varied ways. And they’re all wonderful and welcome experimentations: Drawing from a palette of synths, dreamy vocals, found sound-esque samples, and filtered guitar riffs, Blood Cultures creates a record chock full of standout tracks. “Phospholipid,” which feels like a musical cousin to “Indian Summer,” is one such standout. The lyrics echo the longing and pathos felt in the melody: “You ask yourself what am I to do? (You ask yourself, you ask yourself) Your mother says don't let him get through (Your mother says, your mother says) You ask yourself, what am I to say? Don't give me away Don't keep me astray The way you play your games.” It’s simple, yet potent stuff. The best of Lykke Li and or a subtler M83 come to mind.

Elsewhere, “Coastal” is an expressionist dream that builds and strengthens with synths and sweeps reminiscent of Kool and the Gang’s legendary soul hit, “Summer Madness.” Album opener, “Scenes from a Midnight Movie” is a fitting declaration of Blood Cultures’ artistic vision: “Oh please, tell us about all the things you have seen About all your visions and all of your dreams It seems to me That you're set free It seems to be The only possibility…” It’s a vision full of pathos, wonder, and joy. - juan leon

Mysterious electro-pop prpject Blood Cultures released their debut album this past month, titled Happy Birthday. It features four tracks previously released on Soundcloud, ranging from their successful 2013 single “Indian Summer”, a track we highlighted on this very blog at the time and which has now accumulated nearly 2 million plays, to their most recent single, "Detroit" (streaming below), a track that keeps faith with the signature calm, soothing falsetto vocals over sparse electronic arrangements. The New Jersey based artist will be performing at Rough Trade on August 9th, opening up for Australian rapper Allday at 9PM. – Pearse Devlin

We added this song to The Deli's playlist of Best electronic songs by emerging NYC artists - check it out!