Sintaks - Paint the Depths

Sintaks

Paint the Depths
self-released; 2013

3.5 out of 5

By Jerrica Tisdale 

Sintaks mastermind, Thomas Kollar, was born in Hungry, but he lives in Vancouver.  After experimenting with various instruments, Kollar finally decided to pursue his passion of electronic music. Next, he went to college at the Harbourside Institute of Technology in North Vancouver. There he learned to fabricate the sounds of instruments through technology.  

Paint the Depths takes a journey deep into the mysteries of the ocean. It fuses actual ocean sounds with futuristic beats. It’s an experiment in storytelling. Paint the Depths’ track “The Search (For Na Kika)” retells the legend of a Hawaiian Octopus God, Na Kika. Na Kika brought Gilbert Island up from the ocean floor. In “The Search,” different sounds represent Na Kika’s calls and cries. 

Listeners quickly discover Sintaks vision for the album, because he accomplishes his goal of making the album flow as one sound. Paint the Depths unfolds like a narrative with an introduction, rising action, falling action and a conclusion. The main method Sintaks uses to combine these tracks is carrying some of the sounds over to the next one. Other times he uses a continuous beat throughout Paint the Depths. “The Search” and “The Depths” sound almost entirely like one song.  That’s one reason why “Strokes n’ Waves” stands out the most of the three.  

“Strokes n’ Waves” is the most experimental track on the album because it incorporates different sound mediums. Additionally its layout of voiceovers and beats create a playful blending. “Strokes n’ Waves” song quality makes it a dance-style track, which adds to the enjoyment of it. 

Paint the Depths is an ambitious first album. With influences like Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd and The Galilean Satellites by Rosetta, we’d expect nothing less. Sintaks creative risks really work rhythmically in this album. 

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