A Chat with Default User (12.03.26)
Default User, the collaborative project between New York City producers Aria and 5thPlanet, unveils their long-awaited debut, Rotation Demon. The release fuses techno, trance, ambient, noise, and experimental electronica, reflecting years immersed in the city’s underground DIY music scene. Through its sounds, the project captures the stark, industrial poetry of New York’s hidden margins. We chat with Default User below.
OSR: How did the idea for Default User first come about, and what made you decide to start making music together?
Default User: Back in 2019, we were performing as solo artists at various underground venues before working together on what we thought would be a one-off collaboration. This initial effort eventually developed into our track, ‘Paradise Planet’. In 2023, we stumbled upon a decrepit piano, and from there found our creative groove.
OSR: New York has a long legacy of underground electronic music. How do you see yourselves fitting into that lineage?
Default User: We have thought about this question a lot because New York doesn’t feel like it has a singular ‘scene’, but rather dozens of scenes existing together in chaos. We aren’t quite sure where we fit in. In the studio, we operate like an indie band, but our influences come largely from techno, trance and ambient musicians across the globe.
OSR: The EP feels very atmospheric and environment-driven. Do physical spaces influence the way you write music?
Default User: Yes, the hostile architecture and haphazard urban planning that New York is littered with can be soothing in a humbling way, and make a person feel comfortable being small in the midst of the Big City. We sought to replicate this feeling for listeners in Rotation Demon.
OSR: ‘Bad Gateway’ opens the project with a nostalgic energy. What were you trying to capture with that track?
Default User: While we were creating the track ‘Bad Gateway’, we agreed that the opening riff evokes the ‘poptimism’ of the early 2010’s, and decided to lean into that nostalgia.
OSR: ‘Paradise Planet’ suggests a kind of rave utopia. Is escapism an important theme in your music?
Default User: We share an enthusiasm for the escapism of nightlife. With the creation of our track ‘Paradise Planet’, we sought to transport listeners to places where daytime realities are temporarily forgotten.
OSR: Your production blends analogue textures with digital manipulation. What gear or tools were most important while creating the record?
Default User: During recording, we relied most heavily on a sequencer, a drum machine, and a mono-synth, as well as several other gadgets. We also experimented with plenty of digital effects, especially ring modulation.
OSR: The title Rotation Demon is intriguing. What does it represent conceptually?
Default User: The title Rotation Demon references the popular concept of the ‘dream blunt rotation’ with an element of playful sabotage.
OSR: How did the collaboration process work in practice? Were you building tracks together in the same room, or sharing ideas remotely?
Default User: We collaborated by building tracks in various late-night environments, including bars, clubs, our apartments and the streets of New York. We created every element of Rotation Demon together in-person.
OSR: What role did mastering play in shaping the final sound of the project?
Default User: Our mastering engineer, Irving Gadoury of Hideaway Audio, was instrumental in helping us maintain a sonic cohesion between varied stylistic elements in Rotation Demon.
OSR: If someone is listening to Default User for the first time, what track would you want them to start with and why?
Default User: Listeners should enter the ‘Bad Gateway’ where there’s no turning back.
Many thanks to Default User for speaking with us. Find out more about Default User on their Instagram, Bandcamp, YouTube, and Spotify.
