New AceMo is always a treat, and since it’s been three years since the last official AceMo album, this treat tastes even better. Save The World is the New York/Connecticut artist’s most ambitious project to date. It’s the work of an artist operating on all cylinders, evolving his sound and his processes in parallel to his own personal growth. 

Taken as a whole, the 14-track album is a deeply inward-looking body of music. While firmly rooted on the dancefloor—every track on Save The World is club-ready—the album adds up to much more than just a collection of tracks to DJ. It’s music engineered to deliver hope and positivity directly into your brain. 

Save The World is an album of sunrise tracks best listened to in order. “My Mind,” an uplifting electro track that forefronts AceMo’s vocoder-drenched voice, eliciting notes of Drexciya and Detroit in Effect, without a hint of pastiche. Meanwhile on “Arp Dreams,” AceMo choreographs a dance between a playful arp melody, a fat Moog baseline, and a wailing lead that culminates in a satisfying crescendo. AceMo never overloads tracks with too many synths or drums, and never distracts from the core emotional foundation that builds over the album. 

Nina chatted with AceMo to catch up and learn more about the project, which he released on his own label, Sonic Messengers. The Nina edition of the record has a secret track available as Bonus Material for anyone who purchases the record. 

Listen to Save The World and read our interview with AceMo below. 

Tell us about Save The World. 

I worked on this album for four years. Save The World is a project that's more hopeful, on the more positive side of things. It’s trying to make light of a negative situation and trying to always take the best out of things. I made it with a more hopeful sense, knowing that something better is always on the way. They are tracks to help save the day. 

I want people to associate the tracks with having a good time and having a great vibe, remembering that there's always good to be found, no matter what the situation is. 

I want the tracks to help empower people. That’s what these tracks do for me.

Can you tell us a little about how your production process evolved with this album?

The production process has evolved over the years, and it's always ever-changing—from using my phone to using the EM-1 and the Moog Matriarch. I’m always combining different processes and trying to make whatever happens work. 

The production process has evolved a little bit more in quality, using less hardware and more software-based stuff—or just combining the two. That was like a kind of big thing I wanted to do: combine my processes with all the new technologies that are coming out, not just using old stuff. It's kind of just trying to use everything to make the paintings that I see.

You produced, mixed, and mastered the album. You also designed the cover on your own. What compelled you to go fully DIY on this project?

Sometimes I see ideas all the way through and sometimes I need some help, so I’ll get help from friends to flesh out ideas. I’ve been messing with design since middle school. I’ve always loved fucking with images. I have all the tools… might as well use them.

I’ll try things and put ideas away, but eventually everything comes together. I had this photo forever and I knew I wanted to use it one day. I bought a marker and sketched the title. It took one try. If it’s working, it’s working. 

There’s a song on the project called “a Million Tries… You Got Somethin’” that’s about this. Sometimes the first try is the best try and you just gotta go with it and keep on going. The way you do it is fine. That’s why people like it and it makes you, you. 

Tell us about Sonic Messengers.

The definition is people who send messages via sonic waves. The tagline is “music to connect people.” It’s also a party and residency at Public Records that I have with Savile, YunieMo, and jazz vocalist Shenel Johns. The label focuses on collaboration in general. I have a bunch of releases with artists in Brooklyn and the rest of the world that are going to see the light of day soon. 

Who are some artists you’ve been into lately?

Amal, Mike Servito, Kush, Swisha, MoMa—the classics. Evelyn from Brooklyn, Liquid J, AshTreJenkins. Be on the lookout. 

What’s next for you in 2024?

2024 has a lot in store for AceMo and company. There will be collaborative releases on Sonic Messengers and HAUS OF ALTR. I also have two albums coming out soon, Moblu with art from Hasan Rahim and Inner-Transit with art from She-skin. Expect more music, more vinyl, t-shirts, albums, shows, live sets—all of the above. 2024, we got a lot in store.