Dreamcrusher

Luwayne Glass, who performs as Dreamcrusher, is a gender non-binary straight-edge vegan born in Wichita, Kansas, and describes the project’s output as “Nihilist Queer Revolt Musik.” The resulting sound merges the abrasion of power electronics with elements of industrial, rave, goth, and shoegaze, yielding tracks that are ferociously distorted yet occasionally tempered by recognizable hooks. Although Glass remains connected to the experimental noise community, the artist has long felt disconnected from many of its more insular practices. The music stays confrontational and visceral, yet gains a measure of approachability through its scorched melodies, heavy rhythms, and intermittently hazy vocal lines. During the 2000s Glass began posting material on MySpace, among them reworkings of songs by artists as varied as Crystal Castles and Erykah Badu. Following several self-released EPs, live performances commenced in 2012, after which the singular style and charged stage presence drew notice throughout pockets of the underground. Cassette editions soon surfaced on imprints such as This Ain’t Heaven Recording Concern and Dionysian Tapes. In 2014 the Chicago label Hausu Mountain issued Suicide Deluxe—originally circulated digitally by the artist in 2013—to widespread praise. Glass subsequently crowdfunded an extensive national tour and moved to Brooklyn in 2015. Before the year closed, a deal was signed with Fire Talk, which put out Hackers All of Them Hackers. March 2016 saw that same label reissue nearly a dozen earlier Dreamcrusher recordings while simultaneously introducing the fresh EP Quid Pro Quo.