deførmed Has Gifted A Graduation Album To Himself And It’s As Gloriously Weird As Ever

The scene’s weirdest musician strikes again (Credit: Courtesy of deførmed)

The woes of campus ruffians. The pains of projects and convoluted group assignments. The steely resolve of not trying to break down once every semester. While there are those who adore school life, you have wild cards like deførmed who feel the need to document his university memories in the atypically bizarre way he knows how – by turning it into a madcap album that showcases why he’s arguably the most ingenious homegrown musician out there with no equal. This is top-form deførmed, spewing a polarising auditory trip you’ll either love or hate.

Since releasing his Syndicate debut back in 2021, the genre-mashing virtuoso has ripped the rulebook to shreds when it comes to making music. But beneath an artistic lunacy that spans vicious breakcore, tropical rock, black metal and classical Malay music, there is superb technical aptitude that tethers the deførmed DNA. His live sets over the years have proven his gift as an eccentric showman, and it comes through abundantly in his latest anti-ode to school titled CONGRADUATIONS!!!!!!!!!! (no exclamations marks were excluded).

Described as a graduation gift to himself, the 12-track album is a parodic yet authentic archival of the producer’s first-hand experience of “self-doubt, academic stress, social anxiety, bad group members, commute and the bittersweet parting with the institution”. It’s a collection of harsh musical melanges only concoctable by a whiz such as himself, sporting cutthroat breakcore (“I AM NOT A UNIVERSITY STUDENT”), prog rock flamboyance with acrobatic guitar solos (“IDL U”), saccharine anime-fuelled hyper-pop (“THIRSTY”), neurofunk merged with Malay Zapin influences (“Zapin Bas No. 96”), and even some classical fugue interludes featuring contributions from his schoolmates. Through chaotic bursts salted with tender moments, with full-on Singlish rants that every Singaporean can admire, deførmed has captured the turmoil of slaving away in the education system while preserving his infectious, unhinged sense of humour.

“This album has like 10% of the world’s genres,” he quips. “I made that number up but you get the point.” Happy graduation, deførmed. Stay weird.