By Keith Walsh
DISCLAIMER: The EP reviewed here features distressing sounds and subject matter. Discretion is advised.
Josef Saint, the mastermind behind the experimental electronic rock project Nahja Mora doesn’t hide his intentions about his shocking new six song EP Inside Out. On the album, Saint dramatizes trauma and tragedy, with industrial electronic sounds, and actual soundbites of news reports and gunshots.
It’s a challenging listen, but for a reason. Saint told me he wants to call out systemic failures in the U.S. that he says contribute to the epidemic of violence, in order to get a dialogue going. Saint’s concerns are dual: that violent media and video games, as well as the lack of access to mental healthcare are resulting in young males acting out.
In the hard-hitting set, Saint presents an altered version of the National Anthem, in which he derides the lack of access to mental health care. I needed to qualify the shocking song “Hate The Police” by asking Saint if it isn’t the case that most law enforcement officers are well intended. Our discussion became contentious, due to the complex nature of arguments around the topic of institutional racism, and we had to agree not to use the quotes from the dialogue. The song is a cover of a 1980 track (with altered lyrics by Saint) by Texan punk rock band The Dicks, led by Gary Floyd.
I found it hard to listen to Inside Out, with its haunting synthetic sounds, sound bites from forensic psychologist Dr. Park Dietz, plus news segments from recent tragedies in the U.S. Saint says the entire EP was motivated by the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in May of 2022.
With his aggressive brand of experimental/industrial electronic music, Saint uses Ableton as a DAW, as well as the DAW Gleetchlab. On top of that he uses hardware synths including a Yamaha SY77 and a Behringer Neutron. Josef Saint is located in Baltimore, Maryland.
Interview With Josef Saint on Synthbeat.com
Nahja Mora dot com
Nahja Mora on Bandcamp
Nahja Mora on Facebook
Nahja Mora on Instagram
Precision Field on Bandcamp
AHFHAOTA on Punkrockbeat.com
finis