"But for all his cool precision, Farley is clearly more interested in songs than sounds-- you can tell from his haymaker dynamic shifts and his hazy verse/chorus structures. He has a weird knack for making techno sound like Dismemberment Plan." // Pitchfork
"The record skirts back and forth between breaks a la High Contrast and ambient a la Tangerine Dream, but is best described as the good parts from Kraftwerk, Aphex Twin and New Order." // URB 4.5/5
"His IDM structures expand in all directions like a growing universe, with drum & bass, breaks, and drone punctuated by Aphex Twin-type atmospherics and meditative flourishes." // XLR8R
"It also feels like a real album, not just a collection of singles with filler. It makes for more great post-summertime listening, and will likely end up on a lot of the electronic cognoscenti best-of lists." // music.for-robots.com
"As far as debut albums go, Nebulae is about as good as they come. Farley has crafted a succinct statement of purpose that not only manages to show up the work of his contemporaries, but also serves as one of the most enjoyably listenable electronic records to come along for quite some time." // Stylus
"This winning collection of astral melodies and cavernous beats manages to make an impact that far outlasts its modest 36 minute running time." // Wire
"...a winning combination of old-school programmed beats--think early New Order--and crepuscular soundscapes..." // Uncut
"Nebulae satisfies on multiple levels...a remarkably accomplished debut." // Textura
"In a word - essential." // Losing today
"This has a strangle nostalgic feeling to it...unlike much contemporary electronica, it is constructed from powerful, confident grooves and sweeping melodies..."// Mojo
"Outputs ace musical messages" // 4/5 DJ
"Impressive debut that moves seamlessly from Boards of Canada-esqe atmos to more danceable New Order stuff" // Fact
"Nebulae is both a grower and a musical page-turner, it is clean cut and mechanistic whilst retaining an air of humanity, kicking back with bass before crashing down with a sonic boom of high end percussive programming. It's hypnotic but moves you, finding you tapping your feet and bobbing your head to accessible and gratifying rhythm, brought to life by immaculate programming." // Angryape
"Nebulae is a fairly short album, but an entirely engrossing one. There are no frills and no negatives; just good old, enjoyable IDM tunes wrapped in a virtual tortilla of chilled atmospherics."// 8.5/10 Barcode zine
"...old school ambient techno perfection that proves that the love of
kraftwerk, aphex twin, old school detroit techno, and orbital lives on
in this myspace dominated world." // ireallylovemusic.co.uk
Outputmessage may already be known to you thanks to his previous work on the Ghostly label. The tracks Bernard's Song and Sommeil formed arguably the brightest moments on the Idol Tryouts 1 & 2 compilations respecitively. And his remix of Dabrye's Hyped-Up Plus Tax (2003) has become semi-legendary via turntables this and that side of the Atlantic.
While the pop kids are going indie and the rockers are trying to dance, listening to Outputmessage is something entirely in a league of its own. But, like rediscovering a lost love of old skool Detroit house, the last thing you'd expect is for it to come from a 22-year old Virginia based grad-student.
Like classic Kraftwerk, New Order, or Aphex Twin, each track is hypnotic yet seems danceable before melting into a sonic oblivion. Explains Bernard, 'I love to dance so I like the melody to be prominent its one of those things that connects all human beings regardless of genre-listening preferences.
Bernard may be young but has had more musical tastes than a DJs record box and from dancing when he was a kid'(splits and crazy stuff') to mum's RnB, soul, pop and disco records, through the Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails college years to electronic, minimalist and jazz compsers, each aspect has fused together creating a helluva message.
"The idea behind Outputmessage is projecting a message to the listener. It could be an emotion, colour, place etc. but every song has meaning to me so the message I'm outputting is a piece of myself"
