Two tracks, two opposing emotional states. With Old Pioneers (Escape Death) and New Pioneers, FaltyDL turns a near-death experience into a restless electronic journey through survival, disorientation and new beginnings. Behind the project is Drew Lustman, who for almost two decades has moved freely between jungle, house, garage, ambient and techno, resisting the boundaries of any single genre.
Single stream Old Pioneers
This latest double single offers a glimpse into the deeply personal territory of his forthcoming album VEGA (out on Drowned By Locals 11th December), written in the aftermath of two life-changing events: a motorcycle accident that brought him face to face with his own mortality and the birth of his second daughter. Two experiences at opposite ends of life, yet intrinsically connected, become the starting point for a record shaped by the strange proximity of death and new life.
Lustman describes Old Pioneers (Escape Death) as a track that took thirty years to write and just two hours to finally come together. Lasting only one minute and twenty-two seconds, it begins with relatively calm guitar sounds before suddenly exploding into something much more powerful and unsettling. The force of this shift feels almost physical, as if the music were capturing the impact of the crash itself. The contrast between the two moments creates a strong sense of tension and disorientation, making the track short, direct and emotionally charged.
Single stream New Pioneers
New Pioneers, on the other hand, takes a different direction. It opens with a sound reminiscent of a vintage video game console starting up, setting the tone for a journey into a mysterious, psychedelic electronic world. While both tracks share a similar sonic atmosphere, this one feels more fluid and continuous. Its driving percussion and hypnotic sounds create a constant sense of movement, bringing a more energetic and defiant feel. If Old Pioneers (Escape Death) looks back at the moment everything could have ended, New Pioneers is about moving forward and refusing to stop.
This dialogue between rupture and resistance also extends into the visuals created by Haerri Kim, who brings both tracks together through a retro-futuristic, psychedelic universe. A red-haired, green-skinned character rides a motorcycle through surreal landscapes that feel like fragments of a dream. Drawing on the science-fiction imagery of the seventies and eighties, with echoes of Moebius and classic retro anime, the animation combines vibrant colours and textured, analogue-looking imagery to create a world that feels both nostalgic and dystopian. A motorcycle collision seems to echo Lustman's own accident, while stranger details—a multi-armed statue, eyes appearing in building walls and arms rising from the water—add to the unsettling atmosphere. Even the VEGA logo, with its typography reminiscent of SEGA, reinforces the vintage video-game aesthetic, making the visuals feel like an invitation into another world.
Together, Old Pioneers (Escape Death) and New Pioneers establish an intriguing emotional contrast without abandoning their shared sonic identity. One is fragmented, uncomfortable and explosive, adrenaline-fuelled; the other is more fluid, persistent and forward-looking. Neither offers a straightforward resolution, but both capture different stages of an experience that fundamentally changed Lustman's perspective on life.
Rather than turning trauma into a neatly packaged narrative, FaltyDL allows its contradictions to remain audible. The result is a compelling introduction to the VEGA album, shaped by the strange proximity of death and new life, where survival is not simply about escaping what happened, but about finding the strength to move forward.
