100%WET put hypergaze on the map

100%WET’s self-titled debut album makes the choice unnecessary: the Copenhagen duo lets you have both.

When producer/guitarists Casper Munns and Jakob Birch formed 100%WET in 2023, they were seasoned veterans. Munns had been in art-rock band Himmelrum, in drum and bass duo Splitscreen, and had also immersed himself in electronic production styles. Birch, for his part, had gained more than 15 years’ experience as a live performer with indie artists and as a member/songwriter of the groups Lovespeed and The Lost Weekend, in addition to having dabbled in experimental music on a solo album.

As students at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory of Copenhagen, the two bonded over their shared love of combining elements from high-energy electronic music with guitar-driven songwriting. The duo’s sound, for which a friend coined the term “hypergaze”, was born when they invited guest singer Polly (Amalie Hannibal Petri), who added otherworldly vocal layers to 100%WET’s genre-defying music. “We exist in a time where genre boundaries have completely dissolved, and we’re trying to create our own sound alphabet,” Birch has said.

That sound alphabet reflects the duo’s mission – to push rock music into electronic territories while keeping the core of both intact – and incorporates elements from almost as many genres as there are letters in the actual alphabet. Drum and bass, rave, acid house, breakbeat, trip-hop, shoegaze, grunge, indie rock, dream pop, hyperpop… – 100%WET draws from all these and merges them into a unique sound that is equally hypnotic and energising. Fans of My Bloody Valentine and other bands with distorted guitar textures and subdued vocals will find plenty here that resonates, as will those who list UK progressive electronica legends Underworld, Orbital or Aphex Twin as their favourite acts. It’s an unconventional fusion, so expect to be startled.

In fact, only half a minute into opener “Lost Myself” you may already be at a loss to understand what you’re hearing: the acoustic guitar that plays the intro is joined by frantic jungle percussions before the guitar sound turns atmospheric, accompanied by classic hip-hop beats. It’s Mazzy Star meets Goldie meets The Cure meets A Tribe Called Quest. Stunned, you’re struggling to find your bearings as the wall of sound crashes in, with the singer lamenting over a failed relationship, her vocals drifting in like a hazy dream. Welcome to the world of hypergaze!

“I don’t know how to connect / Lost in disarray”, Swedish vocalist Eir sings in a haunting, ethereal voice on the second track, “Ether”, but unlike the protagonist, you’re starting to connect – to 100%WET’s sound, that is. Built from a loop on an analogue synthesizer commonly used in 90s rave culture, the song is propelled by breakbeats and reverb-soaked guitars as the lyrics address emotions of euphoria and detachment. It gives you the essence of hypergaze and, shaking off your initial daze, you’re starting to enjoy the experience. Now you’re ready for a ride that can take you anywhere, looking forward to the inevitable twists and turns along the road – and there will be lots.

100%WET is full of sudden tempo changes, vocal shifts, explosive build-ups, mood swings and, most of all, lots of genre blending. That said, the synth- and programming-heavy styles take a back seat or, at the very least, become less relentless as the album progresses. It’s as if Munns and Birch’s love of guitars wins out: “Two Packs of Red Apples”, “Leave It” and “Carat” are mostly melodic indie rock songs with lyrics that, though occasionally cryptic, deal with a range of emotional states, from breakdowns and break-ups to moving on.

What direction 100%WET will go in next remains to be seen, but the six-minute album closer “Warmblooded” creates what many listeners may find is the ideal balance between guitar rock and electronica. The mid-tempo track feels like the perfect synthesis of all the duo’s influences; refined, but with enough eccentric charm – e.g. synthesizers that sound like 80s arcade games – to stay interesting. Such polishing may be necessary if 100%WET want to broaden their appeal.

Given the rhythmic conflict and tonal tension between shoegaze and drum and bass, fusing the two and their related genres is a bold move, since the result is bound to be an acquired taste. Music fans who feel the same excitement listening to both, say, The Jesus and Mary Chain and The Future Sound of London are few and far between. It is commendable that 100%WET took the plunge regardless, and the fact that they’ve created a sound where past and present coexist is no small feat. Let’s see what the future has in store for hypergaze.