Dexter Void

A Euphoric End > Music for a Tragic Demise

Wed, 08 May 2013 20:24:00 +0100

Death, Suicide, Kamikaze, Martyrdom!

The subject of life ceasing to exist can be somewhat taboo. In general, people might find it a hard topic to discuss, depending on the context. Yet, our throwaway culture has devalued life in the last 25 years or so and humans will endeavour to kill one another, and they will continue to pursue war. Disagreements brim amid such hypocrisy and hate.

And suicide. The cliché of misery and depression surrounding this area is rife. I believe the act should embody not a miserable bearing but a kind of euphoria whereby the last moments of the individual should consist of an ecstatic virtue, reaching a higher plain. They seek and plough for bardo.

Music should play a key role here. To reach this level of heightened euphoria, one should envisage the music inside the brain. The meticulous, malevolent and downright sinister burrows of our brain cells twist and align in all sorts of absurd directions. This singular life we own, if ending should finish in epic proportion. Whatever the manner.

Here are my top compositions. Ideal for personal demise

01: Keiichi Suzuki - A House on Fire and Massacres All Over - 10:46

Taken from the Takeshi Kitano directed film Zatoichi (my favourite film ever) this epic piece of electronica is beautifully reflective. The drones are other worldly, slowly drifting alongside a prodding bassline. After a time, these strange drones clear to reveal a graceful and light organ motif, pacing in the same manner. It’s as though our eyes become flooded with light in the dark night. This is where the adventure/ scenario develops. I envisage myself as the proud ninja, chased in the heavy rain by Japanese warlords, shoguns and samurai, henceforth as the colossal drums strike. A ramshackle of snare and flickering hi-hats mimic my battle with my enemies. Another clearing in the music appears, It is then that I am struck. A blade slices my shoulder, my abdomen and cuts my throat. I frantically clasp at anything, the earth, my gushing throat. I try to pull the opponent to the ground, but I am too late. Finality has been granted.

02: Michael Nyman - A Watery Death - 05:34

Michael Nyman’s soundtrack to the 1982 film ‘The Draughtsman’s Contract’ is elegantly poetic. On the surface is typical Baroque High Society, all gallant and dignified. Yet underneath, lies a tapestry of violent deceptive charm. Deliciously pilling on fraud, corrupt misgivings, adultery and sexual tension.

The 2005 reworking of ‘A Watery Death’ is an incredible composition where a sense of foreboding suspense persists. There is an interval where an I told you so realisation and mentality slides its way into our thinking. Following this comes a triumphant swagger which alters this festoon of regret. The listener will become confident and comfortable. Slight anxiety seeps in through the cracks of the psyche but as the title suggests, the listener cannot walk on water - or did the listener know that all along. Or is this some act of vengeance? Anyhow, the inevitable result is a soggy, moss strewn mess. Discovered by an individual, it is unveiled by a fanfare of sarcastic trumpets. This moment doth declares that the listener has succumbed.

03: Pulp - This Is Hardcore - 06:27

Another somewhat reflective and despairing piece of music by the brilliant pop band Pulp. Make what you will of the lyrical theme, it’s not always so black and white. But when the cascading melodies and strings and piano stabs tumble down on my brain, it’s unbearable. My skin tears and my emotions rip. All you can do is free-fall from the 12th floor of some tower block into the dark abyss.

‘And Then It’s Over’

04: Leila - To Win Her Love - 04:14

A broken heart, unrequited love can play a large part in the pursuit of pain. The natural ache within the confined chest, tugging at the spirit with subtlety can amount to a tsunami of uneven understanding.
As evident in the lyrics by guest artist Luca Santucci, he explains wholeheartedly, amid Leila Arab’s rubbery bassline spiralling out of control that…

‘I will fly to the sun on Icarus wings’
‘Walk barefoot over nettles that sting’
‘Stone by stone, rebuild the Berlin wall’
‘I’ll climb a skyscraper, then watch myself fall’

05: Björk - Thunderbolt (King Cannibal Remix) - 08:07

Already supremely epic musically and lyrically, the King Cannibal remix of Björk’s ‘Thunderbolt’ succeeds in taking the wanderer to further places cosmically beyond the realms of possibility. The galactic bassline swirls like a nebula gaining power and significance. The eventuality of lightning hitting my spine, does so with utmost epic proportions. As this occurs, King Cannibal unleashes a crescendo of trance-like chords and scintillating jubilation. In reality, I trudge along. Throws of wind, rain, and walls of catastrophic destruction waste me away into nothingness.

06: Antiloop - In My Mind - 03:28

I randomly discovered this ’90s trance hit by Swedish duo Antiloop on YouTube. ‘In My Mind’ possesses a genuine sincerity, usually devoid in songs of this nature. The accompanying video is fascinating too. Featuring a young woman in a ski jacket, sunglasses and massive headphones she strolls slowly down a street, through piercing sunlight. What I find most interesting is her supposedly lack of care in the world.

Adopting this formula, I envisage walking down a street in slow motion, bystanders knowing my intentions, but staring in fear and curiosity. The beats race past me and I am confident with my stride. I approach a mountain or volcano and climb. The hectic beats continue to race as the melancholic chords fiercely revolve around my mind. Humanity is over. I fall backwards, arms open into the magma within and let it engulf me.

07: Keiichi Suzuki - The Wasteland Massacre and the Reminiscence of Geisha - 12:25

Another wonderful composition taken from the Zatoichi soundtrack by musician Keiichi Suzuki. It is utterly beautiful embodying such emotion and poignant gesture. It’s as though it has its own blood circulating freely in the foundations of its hypnotic strings, highly placid piano tinkering’s and gentle percussion.
Everyone should undertake hearing this piece of music in an attempt to understand what their existence is about, and whether it has been worthwhile.

During the film, the lives of certain characters is being unravelled – the music playing an integral role in expressing this. It is touching and sentimental.

Neither murder or suicide, this is a piece of music I will shove into an alcove of my mind, ready to hear as I breathe my last breath. Whenever that will be.

I'm Drawn to the Danger of Falling for Combustible Edison's Charms

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:26:00 +0100

A List of Combustible Edison Songs

Cadillac • The Millionaire’s Holiday • Breakfast at Denny’s • Intermission • Cry Me a River • Impact! • Guadaloupe • Carnival of Souls • The Veldt • Surabaya Johnny • Spy Vs. Spy • Theme From ‘The Tiki Wonder Hour’ • Let’s Keep It Friendly • Monopoly Queen • Alright, Already • Bluebeard • The Checkered Flag • One Eyed Monkey • Solid State • Les Yeux Sans Visage • ‘52’ • Short Double Latté • Mudhead • Morticia • Objet D’Amour • The Corner Table • Lonelyville • Blue Light • Summer Samba • Satan Says • Metropolitan • Christmastime Is Here • Sleigh Ride • Hellraiser • Vertigogo • Utopia • Call of the Space Siren • Laura’s Aura • 20^th Century • Cat O’ Nine Tails • Pink Victim • Dior • Hot & Bothered • Mr. Pushkin Came To Shove • Seduction • Tickled To Death • In The Garden of Earthly Delights

Destination Faux: The Wacky Sounds of Supersonic Racers and Street Racer

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 19:52:00 +0100

It is amusing to look back on the amount of cheaply published PlayStation video games released during the mid ’90s. Many of the games lacked substance and longevity, yet they somehow served a purpose of temporary enjoyment for the casual gamer. A plethora of racing and motoring games (that filled the early stages of development bracket) swamped the shelves back then. Time has been unkind to these titles as many remain cast in a past shadow. If not fantastical or futuristic in scope they certainly based their gameplay around realism.

The Wipeout series springs to mind as one of the more successful brands which reached iconic status. Elsewhere, famous and indeed more grounded titles such as Gran Turismo, Rage Racer, Need for Speed, Colin McRae Rally and TOCA Touring Cars were undoubtedly well-produced with believable (at the time) graphics and overall portrayal. They were also perceived as very serious and concerned with emulating Formula 1 style tables and charting.

To balance this equation then, two comical racing games from my early days of PlayStation gaming rev through to add a little bit of fun. Geared towards children or young adults, Supersonic Racers and Street Racer embody a very amusing edge. They embrace tomfoolery and slapstick revelry with such innocence and nostalgic, childlike attire that they easily work, but only because of their fantastically entertaining soundtracks! Both of these racing games rely heavily on international locations for their unique racing routes and layouts. They draw upon the clichés of global destinations strewn across western eyes, also incorporating a series of worldly characters that drive around in colourful and downright silly vehicles. All this vivacious and vibrant lunacy drives the games forward exuberantly. I surely wouldn’t have given these games much thought back in 1996 if it wasn’t for the hypnotically charismatic music.

Supersonic Racers is cleverly executed and wields a wholehearted experience. Going by the name of Dare Devil Derby 3D in the states, the songs contain a genuine sincerity that is often lacking in games of this nature. If overtly cartoony, their zany brilliance is refreshing and emotionally agreeable. ‘Dancing on a Star’ ‘Light as a Feather’ and the beautiful lament of ‘Despondent Sea Siren’ grace the air with diligence and sincere compassion. If they don’t totally match the crazy car chases on screen they certainly serve their purpose as a contradiction. ‘My Heart Will Decide’ set against the claustrophobic and oppressive busyness of the Metropolis level is another that perfectly pulls at the heart strings with its melancholic and reflective keyboard notes while the Christmassy ‘Take Off’ is jubilant and festive uniting the music with ski slopes and tundra.

With an arsenal of keyboards and minimal drum loops, video game music composer Gerard Gourley set out to create songs of loveliness, chopping up different string motifs based on global themes. The songs themselves don’t go much farther than the two minute mark, but are better off because of this. Simple melodies and structures leave you wanting more. The pirates inspired ‘One More Keg’ rolls out an accordion style melody interjected by whimsical flute and marching drums, the brief melancholic interlude piles on the emotion before striking up a rebellious band of triumph. Likewise ‘The Great Eastwood’ for the Cowboys & Indians race circuits ride along much like a rickety locomotive. Subtle harp plucks spot themselves about the atmosphere while silky strings mediate a flow and Mexican mariachi percussion interjects. It all comes together nicely. The Arabian inspired ‘Mesopotamia’ rides a relatively elusive carpet of meditative mystery suitable for a belly dance. Strings slowly weave in and around archaic ruins, encouraging dramatic fanfare, all echoing of a unique adventure.

I’m hard pressed to find any reviews for Supersonic Racers since the internet was still in its infancy. However, I did manage to find one review in the archive of gaming website NowGamer. My perception of an awful review was opposed when I discovered that it was actually given a great write up. The journalist opens by commenting ‘Bloody marvellous. It’s so refreshing to finally see games on the PlayStation that have lasting playability, stalwart games that you can boot up months after purchase and still enjoy to the full.’ And it is true; the game is victorious due to its accessibility. Light-hearted and memorably fun music certainly plays a key role in this too. There is the option of altering the music to play a selection of field recordings set to the various locations, or players can opt for a trio of unconvincing techno tracks, which are generally harmless.

There isn’t much to Supersonic Racers gameplay-wise; it’s simple and fun. But it possesses an inventive allure and great sense of humour. The soundtrack stands on its own as a heartfelt and genuine repertoire. I do feel somewhat that it went completely unnoticed at the time of release so I’m hoping gamers will rediscover its wonder today.

Supersonic Racers

Super World

Foliage

Hammer Horror

One More Keg

Take Off

Dancing on a Star

Despondent Sea Siren

Light as a Feather

The Great Eastwood

My Heart Will Decide

Mesopotamia

Culture Clash

Deflate The World

Rewind

Gee Whizz!

Zzapp Acceleration

Moving onto the more obvious and trashy Street Racer which I gather was quite popular among gamers at the time. Street Racer was developed by Ubisoft for various gaming consoles and successfully made the jump to PlayStation. Although the graphics, structure and general presentation of this racing game seem cheap and rushed, it does feature some interesting characters that all have their own abilities, weapons and racecourses. It’s funny how similar the aesthetic between Supersonic Racers and Street Racer is whereby they feature comparable locations, music styling and almost exact gameplay.

Referring to NowGamer again for a review, the journalist states that ‘There is much more to Street Racer than initially meets the eye. Take a selection of left and right hand slaps, two special weapons and a turbo button, and what you have is an all-out manic racer with no holds barred.’

With this in mind, I’m happy to say that the soundtrack to Street Racer is again very cartoony and vibrant, but it twists the funny bone in large perpendicular circles. Composed by the elusive Brian Marshall, he gathered a petting zoo of global sounds and threw them down in order to represent the cultures and characters. ‘Azeri Sky’ for the Persian character Hodja shimmers and sways in clichéd Arabian style to a bubbling bass and punchy beat. The Halloween stimuli of ‘Haunted Hoax’ takes werewolf howls and thunder & lightening sound-effects across a Hammond organ led techno marathon while ‘Vanity Fair’ for Italian poseur Raphael is a brilliant piece of euro pop-cum-house trash. The trumpets fanfare while a piano backing tinkles away, leading players to tap their feet as sentimental strings glide over your mind.

The tunes are certainly catchy, more so hilarious and instantly likeable, following the same format for each. Consisting of an introduction, they repeat the melody before dithering away to form some sort of break/ interlude before embarking on an elongated outro of repetition, embellished by various percussion or little fragmented instrumental trimmings.

The Street Racer soundtrack doesn’t possess the same sensitivity or emotive charm of Supersonic Racers but is overtly flamboyant, steeped in hedonism. There are moments of clarity though beginning with the tune for Pamela Anderson look-a-like and only female character Surf in the song ‘Surfer Girl.’ Embracing grunge-like guitars and mildly assertive drum loops the melody is scintillating and mesmerising, urging the heart to bleed in reaction. Another great track is ‘Sound of a Superhero’ to represent the German pilot Helmut. Utilising a sample from classical opera ‘The Ride of the Valkyries’ by Richard Wagner, the intense strings soar over a hyped-up, elastic techno sound, somehow managing to represent the feelings of fear, regret, euphoria and determination in one big display of individual splendour.

The electric ‘Sanyo’ which represents none other than sumo wrestler Sumo is a fantastic swirl of colour that encourages us to dance with vibrancy. An obvious oriental melody plinks and plonks its way around a techno backing. This track is very reminiscent of the 187 Lockdown dance chart hit ‘Kung Fu’ from the ’90s, or even more so New Order’s ‘Blue Monday!’ There are some great rocking tunes too such as ‘Highway Toll,’ title music ‘Burning Rubber’ and the alternative gameplay mode ‘Rumble’ showing that the grunge era made an impact on our composer as well as cheap-sounding electronica.

Street Racer

Burning Rubber

Attributes

Azeri Sky

Haunted Hoax

Let The Earth Shake

Highway Toll

Vanity Fair

Surfer Girl

Sound of a Superhero

Sanyo

Rumble

Curtain Call

In retrospect, both of the racing games above really don’t mean much in the grand scheme of things. I’m certain that not many gamers will remember them. However, they are full of fun and genuine nostalgia for a time when childhood was innocent and sacred. They also evoke the feeling, which NowGamer describe as ‘That evil “I’ll get you” attitude, that’s bound to destroy friendships.’

Temporarily anyway, you might as well buckle up.

Boredoms The insanely far-out and intensely super-charged cosmic...

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 22:10:12 +0100

Boredoms

The insanely far-out and intensely super-charged cosmic whirlwind of Japanese rock band Boredoms, wildly surpasses that of many other avant-noise related bands from the Japanese music scene.

Indeed, blistering across the sky on a floating temple of cosmic power are other madcap Japanese bands Ruins, Koenjihyakkei, Acid Mothers Temple, High Rise, Zeni Geva, Melt-Banana, Afrirampo etc. but Boredoms seemingly take the crown for being extremely exciting!

BOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

My brains are pummelled and electrified by their terrifying wall of sound, rising ever higher and higher before cascading down onto my frail spine releasing all manner of animalistic advantages and jungle post-apocalyptic rhythms. This tribe of Japanese pranksters unveil voodoo of the most sublime colour. Their easel is awash with such fractured and riotous sound. It drips down to form new civilisations and environments. The Boredoms are our saviours.

A vague past dithers, yet prevalent members persist. Yamantaka Eye screams and shouts a call of the untamed whilst throwing in noise and samples, mixing and matching at the terminals. Multi-instrumentalist Yoshimi P-We pounds the drums, a potpourri of percussion, keyboards and trumpet. With them is second drummer Yojiro Tatekawa and guitarist Shinji Masuko. They charge henceforth with deferential decorum.

Life of drum seems to be a motto in this new world, rhythms are carved out intuitively, the four of them finding a way to connect all corners of a psychedelic domain. They continuously experiment with the ultra-possibilities of sound. For example, the Boredoms recorded the sound of their drumming underwater for the Seadrum/House of Sun album. They also used newly developed contact microphones to record the sounds made by the human body while dancing.

Then came the Boadrum concert initiated by Yamantaka Eye in 2007. The concert saw him bringing together 77 drummers to perform at the Brooklyn Bridge Park in new York City. The number 77 was rumoured to be significant when Eye climbed The Konark Sun Temple in India and counted 77 steps.

This theory continued with the 88 concert in Los Angeles the following year. The third in the series, 99 took place at Terminal 5 in New York City on 9^th September 2009 and featured 9 drummers from influential noise bands such as Hella, Oneida, Pit er Pat and Volcano The Bear among others.

But where the future leads and what the light will shed remains to be seen.

SUUUUUPPPPEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!

Weird War Coming from the well stocked stable of Drag City...

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 19:29:00 +0000

Weird War

Coming from the well stocked stable of Drag City bands, Weird War marches forth making a decent racket combining that of dirty rock ‘n’ rock and hyperbolical tomfoolery!

It is the brilliant mind of musician Ian Svenonius who is commanding Weird War. He takes the cosmic project to a place of sheer euphoria and enlightenment. The bass throbbing way down low, the electric guitar swaying sieve-like through a sewer of sexual tension, the drums rocking and rolling, out of control, non sequitur abandonment. Spearheading this dollop of electric funk is a pop sensibility full of catchy, tongue grabbing notes that ooze from the sides. The time is now to wig-out!!

Svenonius is steeped in a brief history which sees him arriving to Weird War territory following many bands and projects. Firstly, he formed hardcore outfit The Nation of Ulysses in 1988 who released a couple of LPs on Ian McKaye’s legendary Dischord label. The ’90s saw Svenonius forming the funky post-punk outfit The Make-Up. Their brand of stripped bare sound is electrifying and soulful and an indication as to where Svenonius was heading.

‘Believe me, you could do a lot worse’

Then came the Weird War. Exploding onto the Washington D.C. scene, the band sparked off some sort of crazed, hippie, drug injected rock ‘n’ roll mayhem with their debut self-titled LP. Yet, Weird War’s ideology is somewhat different to their full-on sound. Speaking of their musicality, Svenonius tells music website Drowned In Sound that they are ‘The sole answer to the hype-based careerism, empty formalism and vacuity which has infected what was once a genuinely creative underground rock ‘n’ roll scene.’ A natural progression saw Weird War briefly becoming the Scene Creamers for one album, the I Suck On That Emotion LP. They reverted back to the name Weird War when a French graffiti collective threatened them with legal action for the use of the name Scene Creamers!

This insecure interlude meant that Weird War returned with their best album yet! Titled If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Bite ‘Em, the record is a monumental cosmic trip of sexual fire and energy, encompassing not only scintillating guitar dirges and soil soaked bass but significant politicised messages. Mixed with good time rock ‘n’ roll interpretations for the modern age, tracks such as Moment In Time, Chemical Rank and single AK-47 swell with colossal euphoria and pumping assault which serve to slaughter your bodies on the dance floor, slowly forming a graveyard. The title song featured the suave vocals of Royal Trux junkie-diva Jennifer Herrema and featured a deliciously perverse record sleeve which paid homage to Lou Reed’s Live - Take No Prisoners LP in a deranged manner.

‘A rope round the neck causing strangulation’

To me, Weird War is like watching dictators dancing at a seedy ’70s rock disco on the edge of a black hole. Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and Joseph Stalin intimidating one another with their dance moves. Final LP Illuminated By The Light saw Weird War traipsing a more merry and exuberant path into pastures fresh. Rising in the oven with the fantastic sounds of T-Rex, Funkadelic, Frank Zappa and a mutated Lou Reed.

The music video for Mental Poisoning is one of my favourites, for its excellence at capturing and imitating the Weird War sound perfectly!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUHrlRD3byI

Indeed, war is ultimately strange but not as strange as the Weird War.

‘There ain’t nothing wrong with you! - I ain’t lying’

‘There ain’t nothing wrong with you! - That mental poisoning messed up your mind’

Les Georges Leningrad For an extended period of my late teenage...

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 21:19:00 +0000

Les Georges Leningrad

For an extended period of my late teenage years I was obsessed with the French-Canadian outfit Les Georges Leningrad. There were three bands that I became infatuated with at this time. Oakland’s femme-punks Erase Errata started me off, which in turn led me towards San Francisco electro-punk trio Numbers. Les Georges Leningrad seem to come from nowhere though, dropping like a retarded, angular stench of an avant-garde ball into my lap. The French-Canadians toured with the latter bands and it was then that I went on the rampage trying to discover as many West Coast bands I could muster. After all, these bands served as a community, helping one another, feeding off one another’s creativity.

But Les Georges Leningrad set themselves overtly apart from the West Coast bands by being über-über-strange (no, that’s not a type) Les Georges Leningrad could be classed as one of the world’s weirdest acts in recent years. You could describe them as the modern Day Residents, extracting some of the attributes found in the Los Angeles Free Music Society.

The band comprises vocalist Poney P, ecstatic drummer Bobo Boutin and lastly, Mingo L’Indien who acquired scratchy guitar and role of keys crusher! The band curiously take it in turns to play their instruments, also hailing the drum machine as an integral ingredient too. The band actually had a fourth member in the form of bassist Toundra LaLouve, but supposedly sacked her following the release of their first album Deux Hot Dogs Moutarde Chou simply commenting (if I remember correctly) that she took too many drugs for their liking!

Their debut album Deux Hot Dogs Moutarde Chou released on the short-lived obscure label Les Records Coco Cognac is a whirlwind of truly bizarre and whacky sounds, structures and so-called songs. Poney P does a precise job of supplying freaky-deaky screams and screeches, yelps and yells. There are lo-fi samples galore, recalling the much loved days of the Butthole Surfers. There is a tinge of riot grrl, a swab of electro-punk and a sitz bath of no-wave anarchy!

Songs such as Bad Smells, Georges Five, La Chienne and Didi Extra can only be believed if heard. Glancing at the band might help to make sense of it all. The band use gaudy stage costumes for their live setup, paper costumes complete with sexual organs and extreme masks to disguise their identities. It’s no wonder that readers of weekly newspaper Montreal Mirror voted them twice as ‘Freakiest Local Act’

The bands history is peppered with mystery as the members constantly opt to give contradictory and incomprehensible answers in interviews thus leaving the audience lost. Probably just the way they prefer it. For the release of their second record, Sur Les Traces de Black Eskimo, Les Georges Leningrad unveiled what they describe as Petrochemical Rock - labelled by Pitchfork.com as ‘a spastic blend of dub, disco, post-punk, and no-wave.’ It certainly is dark, yet fancily dance-driven.

Speaking of the sound on Sur Les Traces de Black Eskimo, Bobo Boutin explains to Canadian site Exclaim! (and journalist Kevin Hainey) in usual ludicrous attire that ‘It’s petrochemical rock! Our structure was calling for more beats, butts and blisters. An act of exhaustion that people can dance to like firecrackers, sweaty cowbell, bloody thumbs, flooding tears, specs, spits, horny sticks, sticky licks and consumption. Fucking cranny old school of rhythms! Beat is music! We are pro-biceps and pro-dirt. I would like to play drums with bones at Kevin Hainey’s funeral!’

WTF!!

Luckily for me, Les Georges Leningrad played London around the release of their second LP (which is on the brilliant Montreal label Alien8) I can’t remember the venue but I do remember that Bobby Conn was a support act whereby he gently caressed my face. I stared on in awe. I then had to slink away in embarrassment. Between bands I purchased the new album, some stickers and a ‘t’ shirt (which I still have) from the merch store. I told Poney P how much I adored the band. The two guys I also spoke with and shook their hands firmly, thanking them for enriching my life. I only later realised that they don’t really understand or speak fluent English. A drug-riddled band played next and then a delay to the Les Georges Leningrad set. They eventually emerged at 12:30 or something. The set they played was incredible. A huge rave-up of carnage and noise, their paper costumes tearing at the seams, Mingo L’Indien sliding some sort of box machine to form drum beats, Poney P racing across the stage to stare everyone in the face with bold, piercing eyes. My euphoria and naivety somehow mixed to form emotive dancing! It was a Sunday night and I missed my train home, and therefore spent three bus rides dreaming of this insane and wonderful band.

I am being extremely enthusiastic about Les Georges Leningrad, but they epitomise everything I search for in a music act.

Don’t just take my word for it though. Look out for their records and buy them!!

> Deux Hot Dogs Moutarde Chou

> Sur Les Traces de Black Eskimo

> Sangue Puro

Dig those cowbells!!!

Magik Markers Send me rough distortion. Send me searing...

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 21:20:19 +0000

Magik Markers

Send me rough distortion.

Send me searing feedback.

It will typically send me over the edge of this cliff, spiralling down, gaining momentum where I will invariably smash my already broken frame into the mud.

And down there, knee deep in this swill, I must allow myself to try and wade forward, allowing myself to be sucked into Pandora’s box. I will never return.

I dwell in that box, slowly getting smaller, the walls drawing inwards, the ceiling cascading down onto my head. This paranoia and claustrophobia envelops my mind.

The Magik Markers send me on my way at three in the morning. A gigantic crimson wind settles on the sunglow dew which rests flatly on the burnt tangerine steam, amid all open air fields of red wetness. It all swirls like an epic monolith in front of my eyes. It fears high regard and it fears crumbling.

I hear in the distance, Elisa Ambrogio calling, preaching words of importance and rescue, willing me back… yet this tidal wave of despair drags me onwards.

The Kingdom of God and its land of nobility is far away. It is unobtainable.

…So I let this distortion enrapt me.

The Black Dog Some would say that modern electronica, techno,...

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 19:06:41 +0000

The Black Dog

Some would say that modern electronica, techno, house and rave culture owes a lot to the pioneers of the early ‘90s, some of which pushed intelligent dance music (IDM) to the forefront. The Black Dog was one act that shifted techno gear-sticks and steered the dance genre with an experimental edge close to the rim of the universe.

Comprising of Ken Downie, Ed Handley and Andy Turner the trio adopted many monikers during their career which shrouded the individuals in excessive mysticism. Aliases included Balil, IAO, Close Up Over, Atypic and Tura. The most popular and somewhat successful of these acts was when Handley and Turner partnered for their long term project Plaid. The project saw them releasing six classic albums on Warp Records, countless DJ mixes and appearances and remixes for the likes of Nicolette, Björk, U.N.K.L.E., Goldfrapp and Herbert.

My favourite of their records is undoubtedly the Spanners LP from 1995. The ears will be altered into a scintillating galactic state and your mind? …Your mind will be floating in a jar of formaldehyde, slowly disappearing in the ether…

Also, check out the Bytes compilation from 1993 for a varied trip of early ‘90s IDM and experimental electronica. The track Fight The Hits under the pseudonym Discordian Popes is like a tidal wave of drum machines in overdrive, bubbling over with a gripping 303 squelch!

Immerse yourself in their world of emotion, all constructed by machines.

ADULT. Cold and harsh sounding electronica, slicing its way...

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 21:28:00 +0000

ADULT.

Cold and harsh sounding electronica, slicing its way through the dank air, probing with metallic dials and obtuse, simple gadgetry. It’s not just that though, the music of ADULT. is full of anxiety and dread, swishing in the pit of hopelessness and despair over the most everyday and seemingly fundamental elements of life. If I allow myself to live in this enclosed shelter of private anguish and disobedience, then ADULT. surely provides the soundtrack to my secret self-hate and denial.

Hailing from Detroit, the duo of Nicola Kuperus and Adam Lee Miller carve up a horrific spectacle of unease via releases Gimmie Trouble, Why Bother? Anxiety Always and Nausea on Chicago label Thrill Jockey and their own Ersatz Audio. Their music and look is like no other, charming my body to dance when all is dismal.

Kuperus’ vocals scatter and skitter around my brain toying with the conscience of the Devil, lyrically twisting out the diseased juice of my mind, spilling it over a corrugated floor. Not the vinyl record!!

They will help me see it through…

But they are having the last laugh though? Period.

Buy their records! - http://www.adultperiod.com/

My favourite song by ADULT. is In My Nerves

I just can’t stop this hesitation,
It’s getting in the way of the choices I’m making
What am I, I to do? I’m falling apart, I’m coming unglued.
I’m pacing around like a zombie,
I’m shutting my eyes ‘cos I don’t want to see.

—-
I always say “tomorrow’s a new day”
Doesn’t really matter when you’re going every which way.
What am I, I to do? I’m spinning around, I’m cussing who?
I’m tired of this, and oh so that
I’m throwing out my mind since it’s become flat

—-
Getting in my nerves, and under my skin,
I’m just not foreseeing that it’ll be leaving anytime soon
Getting in my nerves and under my skin,
I just started thinking that this is just the way it is.

Huun-Huur-Tu Mongolia always seemed like a mysterious and exotic...

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 20:12:00 +0000

Huun-Huur-Tu

Mongolia always seemed like a mysterious and exotic location, far away and almost like a land taken from one of Aesop’s Fables. Even stranger is the prospect of throat singing as a musical style and genre. My first encounter with throat singing began in the fibres of Björk’s experimental a cappella record Medúlla in which Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq offered her exasperated, abrasive and frightening vocals to various songs. Although poles apart and from different cultures and climes, she holds a distinct resemblance to the dark tones that shimmer throughout the music of Huun-Huur-Tu. After all, this is the voice, the purest of instruments.

The musical collective, Huun-Huur-Tu come from Tuva situated on the Mongolian northern border. The ambience in their music is sincere, disciplined with utmost traditional refinery, deploying instruments including the igil, khomus, doshpuluur and dünggür. The musical landscape they concoct floods the wild excitement of a horse ride, the sombre twilight zone of prayer-like abandon, the pensive and lonesome wait for the return of a family member or the enraptured celebration with local communities.

Yet, the vivid depictions I have used to try and stain an already engaged canvas are not enough to describe what really happens when you let Huun-Huur-Tu enter your open pores and your mind.

Indeed, Mongolia is a mysterious land with a rich tapestry of influences. I feel the culture of these nomadic people lacks documentation but then again Mongolia should remain a fascinating secret. Observers outward, looking in.

7 Year Bitch Already a massive fan of the Minneapolis trio Babes...

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 19:25:00 +0000

7 Year Bitch

Already a massive fan of the Minneapolis trio Babes In Toyland, fronted by the incredible force of nature that is Kat Bjelland, I felt the need to discover other like-minded grunge girl bands of the early ‘90s era.

Along this path, brilliant girl bands were unearthed including the likes of Lunachicks, L7, Bikini Kill, Slant 6, Team Dresch, Tribe 8, Sleater-Kinney and Excuse 17.

Among these ladies was the all female Seattle grunge band 7 Year Bitch, whom stood out for their wildly aggressive and uncompromising punk rock and broadminded ethic.

7 Year Bitch consisted of guitarist Stefanie Sargent, bassist Elizabeth Davis, vocalist Selene Vigil and drummer Valerie Agnew. However, amid the release of their first album Sick ‘Em in 1992 Stefanie Sargent died from suffocation, throwing up the entrails of her stomach after taking heroin at a party. The band decided to continue and enlisted guitarist Roisin Dunne later in the year.

Yet tragedy ensued when The Gits frontwoman Mia Zapata was viciously raped and murdered while walking home at night. A long-time friend of 7 Year Bitch, this incident had a somewhat profound effect on the band which saw them release their second album ¡Viva Zapata!

Valerie also set up the anti-violence and self-defence organisation Home Alive which had bands such as Babes In Toyland and Jack Off Jill collaborating for benefit gigs. The mid ‘90s saw the ladies signing to major label Atlantic Records for their third and final release Gato Negro.

The sound of 7 Year Bitch is typical grunge era plunging, scraping and rasping of an aggressive nature. Dirge straddled bass, scratchy and violent guitar hooks push themselves around pounding drums to equal a well-known traditional rock combo. And to top this, Selene sings and shouts songs about rape, drug addiction, retribution and the irony of our existence.

Din-St Funnelling through a turbine of apparent violence in the...

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 16:32:12 +0000

Din-St

Funnelling through a turbine of apparent violence in the boundaries of my brain, Berliner Frederic Stader pops up now and again to say a bizarre ‘hello’ poking through my tender neurons.

Thick gloop-like liquid drips onto the terminals, causing a shock to many systems. Razor edges draw themselves ever closer to the throat while abrasive fuzz and a blur of nauseous sound shadows the optic landscape.

This is brutal, spelt BROOTLE! This is wild hard-core electronic punk for a generation that haven’t even been conceived. It’s a crazy ‘fuck you’ in so-called hip-hop spirit and funkadelic scope. My diseased brain wants to rise above my skull and instantly wants to fall in gyroscopic style into the concrete pavement.

Can you handle this????!!

A List of Songs by Faun Fables!

Sat, 12 Jan 2013 10:41:00 +0000

Muse • The Crumb • Old Village Churchyard • Apple Trees • Only A Miner • Sometimes I Pray • Honey Baby Blues • Lullaby For Consciousness • O Death • Ode To Rejection • Bliss • Begin • Sleepwalker • Shadowsound • Hela • Traveller Returning • Train • Beautiful Blade • Mother Twilight • Lightning Rods • Moth • Girl That Said Goodbye • Washington State • Catch Me • Live Old • Eyes Of A Bird • Poem 2 • A Mother And A Piano • Lucy Belle • Joshua • Nop Of Time • Still Here • Preview • Higher • Carousel With Madonna’s • Rising Din • Fear March • Eternal • Mouse Song • Old And Light • Birth • Transit Theme • House Carpenter • In Speed • Taki Pejzaz • Roadkill • Earth’s Kiss • Fire & Castration • The Questioning • I No Longer Wish To • The Corwith Brothers • Dream On A Train • I’d Like To Be • With Words And Cake • Pictures • A Table Forgotten • Winter Sleep • Intro: Darkness • Light Of A Vaster Dark • Housekeeper • On The Open Plains • Violet • Hollow In The Home • Parade • Hear The Grinder Creak • Sweeping Spell • O Mary • Bells For Ura • Hibernation Tales • Outro: Light •

Björk Songs!

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 23:28:00 +0000

Johannes Kjarvel · Human Behaviour · Crying · Venus As A Boy · There’s More To Life Than This · Like Someone In Love · Big Time Sensuality · One Day · Aeroplane · Come To Me · Violently Happy · The Anchor Song · Play Dead · Stígðu Mig · Glóra · Siðasta Ég · I Remember You · Atlantic · Ooops · Qmart · You Only Live Twice · Army Of Me · Hyperballad · The Modern Things · It’s Oh So Quiet · Enjoy · You’ve Been Flirting Again · Isobel · Possibly Maybe · I Miss You · Cover Me · Headphones · Charlene · I Go Humble · My Spine · Visur Vatnsenda-Rósu · Sweet Intuition · Karvel · Lilith · Oxygen · Yoga · Keep Your Mouth Shut · Nu Flyver Anton · Hunter · Jóga · Unravel · Bachelorette · All Neon Like · 5 Years · Immature · Alarm Call · Pluto · All Is Full Of Love · Sod Off · So Broken · Nature Is Ancient · Scary · Overture · Cvalda · I’ve Seen It All · Scatterheart · In The Musicals · 107 Steps · New World · Hidden Place · Cocoon · It’s Not Up To You · Undo · Pagan Poetry · Frosti · Aurora · An Echo A Stain · Sun In My Mouth · Heirloom · Harm Of Will · Unison · Generous Palmstroke · Verandi · Mother Heroic · Foot Soldier · Domestica · Batabid · Amphibian · It’s In Our Hands · Pleasure Is All Mine · Show Me Forgiveness · Where Is The Line · Vökuró · Öll Birtan · Who Is It · Submarine · Desired Constellation · Oceania · Sonnets/Unrealities XI · Ancestors · Mouth’s Cradle · Miðvikudags · Triumph Of A Heart · Komið · Synchronicity · Gratitude · Pearl · Ambergris March · Bath · Hunter Vessel · Shimenawa · Vessel Shimenawa · Storm · Holographic Entrypoint · Cetacea · Antarctic Return · Petrolatum · North · Ink · Prayer Of The Heart · The Boho Dance · Earth Intruders · Wanderlust · The Dull Flame of Desire · Innocence · I See Who You Are · Vertebrae By Vertebrae · Pneumonia · Hope · Declare Independence · My Juvenile · Softly · Náttúra · Ocean · On And Ever Onward · Sharing Orb · All We Are · The Comet Song · Tribute To Alexander McQueen · Moon · Thunderbolt · Crystalline · Cosmogony · Dark Matter · Hollow · Virus · Sacrifice · Mutual Core · Solstice ·

Dexter Void's Ten Musical Highlights of 2012

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 11:46:00 +0000

01: Grimes - Visions
This would be the perfect soundtrack to a videogame. It’s difficult to explain fully what this album does to me. It transports me to an outer world where I don’t care what happens in my head. Claire Boucher’s project incorporates dreamy landscapes of sound, at once barren and vast before being taken over by delightful pop melodies, enveloping me in rapt. Strange sounds are utilised bending my mind and ultimately wrenching it out. This utopia is humble and at times drenched in a darker undercurrent of dread and doubt, one in which I plan to envisage again.

02: Death Grips - The Money Store
Utterly unforgettable experimental and down-right strange other-worldly hip-hop. It takes on another dimension in the mind in which the listener cannot control or even fathom why it dwells there. Essential!

03: Crystal Castles - III
For three months I’d been engulfed by the colossal magic of Crystal Castles, their debut album and follow up making me dance full-throttle. Mesmerised by their glitchy techno, goth-tinged noise and electronica all dipped in melancholia I cemented my role as an additional fan to this already popular Canadian band. With third album III, the duo take a very interesting and bold direction by disavowing computers for the recording process. The sound of yore is retained, yet the songs take on a more darker and serious tone, much like a cataclysmic whirlwind of dysphonic cathedral-like verse. The vocals of singer Alice Glass take a more prevalent role too, her lyrics reading as dark, lamenting prose. A euphemism for a young person growing up to discover how the world is crueller than initially expected. ‘I’ll protect you from all the things I’ve seen. And I’ll clean your wounds, rinse them in saline.’

04: Björk - Bastards

The way I see it, the mixes included on this record serve as the ‘bastard’ children of the sublimely strange Biophilia album Björk released in 2011. In the same way that Telegram did in 1996, Bastards portrays and updates the songs with a dose of musical heroin. Omar Souleyman’s dabke versions of Crystalline and Thunderbolt shimmer and fluctuate with Arabic hyper-tension while Matthew Herbert successfully takes Mutual Core and Crystalline to places further in the realms of cosmic pop. Other notable inclusions such as Death Grips brilliant take on Thunderbolt guide the listener through a turbine of odd sounds revolving orrery-like through the membrane of the mind. Solstice is given a dubstep makeover of behemothic proportions and the Alva Noto remodel of Dark Matter cuts up Björk’s vocals into a schizophrenic drone of wonder.

05: Fatima Al Qadiri - Desert Strike EP
I’ve been a huge fan of Fatima Al Qadiri for a while now and her music always inspires me. She appeared in the November edition of Dazed & Confused in which she spoke of her new Desert Strike EP. Named after the SEGA MegaDrive game of the same name Al Qadiri reminisces that ‘The most surreal thing was the breakdown of society, and when they burned the oil wells and the sky turned black. It felt like being on the surface of the moon. This record is about the relationship between the virtual and reality of war.’ This EP carries on from where Fatima’s previous releases left off, inducing dark-wave cloaks of gloom sweeping overhead like a sand storm. Calypso drum melodies make an appearance as do the fragments of choral vocals that tend to seep in through our emotional war wounds.

06: Dirty Projectors - Swing Lo Magellan
This record wraps itself around you like a blanket warped by honey. Just let Dave Longstreth’s beautifully abrasive and anxiety-driven lyrics plead to you. Songs are backed by amazing, ancestral harmonies courtesy of his female band mates, humble handclaps and a mosaic of experimental indie rock. The undoubtedly stand out track here is Gun Has No Trigger which truly pulls your heart into a net of consciousness. The song is so important the lyrics deserve to be displayed here:
　
If you had looked, you might have just seen them
Stretched in the background
You’d see the oceans swell and the mountains shook
You’d see a million colours if you really looked
Now quick the night draws near
Her curtain spreads quicker
The safety’s off, but the gun has no trigger

If you had looked, you’d be no one’s coward
Distance, justice, power
You’d glimpse the password
You wouldn’t need the book
You’d own both slave and master, if you just had looked
But now the banks all closed and nothing gets bigger
The crowd will yell but the gun has no trigger
　
If you had looked, you might reconsider
Or just maybe you already have
They watch you sleeping
You watch their garbage cook
You’d weep a bowl of tears if you had looked
But now the gate comes down, the pangs are growing dimmer
You hold a gun to your head but the gun has no trigger

07: Trin Tran - Dark Radar
When I was 17 I was obsessed with the west coast punk scene of America. Bands such as Erase Errata, Numbers, Burmese, Die Monitr Batss, Deerhoof and a myriad of others all supported one another and were on the same level of underground stature. One of the lesser known obscure outfits was Wisconsin’s Trin Tran, a one-man army of deranged and bizarre sound. Finally, in the year 2012 Drag City’s offshoot label God released his debut album Dark Radar, an off-the-wall amalgamation of nerdy indie-rock and über-strange galactic electronica. Seizures all round then.

08: Azealia Banks - 1991 EP
Harlem rapper Azealia Banks had already worked her way into the UKs consciousness with her brilliant 212 track. I fondly recall euphorically singing this song in a van with Beige PR team members Sophia Boudjemaa and Steph Aukstikalnis among others after having our souls corroded working at V Festival. But with the 1991 EP, Azealia Banks proves that she isn’t going to be known for a singular song. She takes old school early ’90s rave and updates the formula with shoulder pumping beats, pulsing chords and keys that frame IDM. But let’s not forget Azealia’s insane and incredible lyrics that spit effortlessly from her lips. Her album will be one to watch next year!

09: Django Django - Django Django
Psychedelic gets thrown around a lot but this has a genuine pop sensibility it can add to its hyphenated list. Tribal drums abound, striking keyboard hooks and funky guitar lines give this record an alcove where it can stand supremely on its own.

10: Jessie Ware - 110%
This track seemed to appear from nowhere, playing on radio with no introduction and I initially thought it was Beyoncé, unusually playing down her role as a deliciously sexual diva. But no, this beautiful ditty slinks its way around our frames unwrapping the listener in a kind of hope that is genuine and heartfelt. The one-sided 7” single sold out almost instantly building up anticipation for Jessie Ware’s debut album.

1950sunlimited: mid century record players

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 09:19:42 +0000

1950sunlimited:

mid century record players

The Third Eye Foundation I absolutely adore the misery and...

Thu, 18 Oct 2012 22:02:44 +0100

The Third Eye Foundation

I absolutely adore the misery and despair in the downbeat, lo-fi sewer dwelling drum ‘n’ bass crafted by the hand of Matt Elliott and his Third Eye Foundation alias. Coming from the Bristol underground he took his listeners to strange far-off places, compressing scary and abrasive industrial formations with middle eastern avant-garde sounds right through to dark layers of noise, all cascading down into a violent sieve, the remnants left like debris upon a barren battlefield.

The one time member of Flying Saucer Attack has released several mesmerising records over the years, all of which capture the listener with a beautiful, yet haunting trance of unease. Anxious waves of distress linger, clutching onto the emotional thread of Matt Elliott’s compositions. With tracks titles such as ‘Corpses As Bedmates’ ‘An Even Harder Shade of Dark’ and ‘I’m Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired’ along with controversially powerful and somewhat impious sleeve art the whole project comes together immaculately. Imagine dragging your frame through a marshland of depression, shackled and heaving with exhaustion. Our only saviour continues to look on, acting as a mirage at the end of the tunnel, which in turn always ends up to be an inadequate darkness.

Leila Arab Female musicians and singers have always been far...

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 20:53:00 +0100

Leila Arab

Female musicians and singers have always been far more interesting. If not completely far-out and wild, I find male singers/musicians predictable and conventional and far too often they are hailed as supreme beings! Without trying to revert to sexual politics here, female singers and musicians have to work harder to be seen and heard. They seem to put so much more effort into their art and creative output that you can’t help but admire their womanly sweat and labours. From quirky big band singers of the 1940s such as Peggy Lee, Dinah Shore and June Christy all the way through to contemporary experimentalists Björk, PJ Harvey and Joanna Newsom, female musicians have always been far more subversive and interesting.

I view Leila Arab’s music as some kind of gateway into a mechanical realm of complex IDM structures and advanced programming. The lady has produced some incredible music over the years. Always experimental and surprising, the Iranian born, London based DJ’s four albums (Like Weather, Courtesy of Choice, Blood Looms & Blooms and U&I) have utilised sounds and samples that in turn can be regarded as her own unique style.

Leila Arab explains to the Sunday Telegraph’s music critic Ben Thompson that ‘There’s sometimes a sense with my music of it coming from a closed world, I suppose that’s just a reflection of where I’m at, because I do live in a bit of a bubble.’ Both her parents were exiles of the Islamic revolution in 1979 which saw the family move to London to settle. She comments that ‘People always think what happened must have been really traumatic but the truth is that when you’re young, everything is new to you anyway.’ She became a DJ at college and would frequent the London party scene of the early ‘90s. But her musical career started in 1993 when she toured with Icelandic pop star Björk for the Debut world tour and subsequently the Post world tour. Check out the fantastic live version of ‘Enjoy’ in which Leila Arab abuses and exploits the terminals to create an otherworldly concoction of trip-hop, noise and sincere IDM:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OszyMKVsNg4

Leila’s music is very much at home on Warp Records where she can be likened to artists such as Aphex Twin, Plaid and Bola. Tracks like ‘To Win Her Love’ ‘Sodastream’ and ‘Mettle’ invoke Goosebumps with their fluttering heartfelt melodies and low down fluid-like basslines, whereas the dissonant noises twisting and turning on tracks such as ‘Misunderstood’ ‘Blue Grace’ and ‘Gush Goog’ incite a bleary eyed trickle of mystery.

In an interview with music site Wears The Trousers, Leila sums up her music and live act by stating that ‘The whole point of my music is how ‘alive’ it is. I tend to go wrong more than a real band, which I think is brilliant. People associate electronics with the murder of all possibilities and the potential for it to go wrong. But for me it’s the opposite.’

Jin Hi Kim I enter the throat of a mighty deity and I am taken...

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 20:01:19 +0100

Jin Hi Kim

I enter the throat of a mighty deity and I am taken on a serene journey over lush lands of golden prosperity. Crimson skies fall upon an imperial blue mist that orbits all mountains. These imposing rocks desperately seek the deep indigo within the spiritual orb. Delicately shuddering into electric blue mythical waters, I am awash with reflection and a study of my inner state. The warm qualities that layer my cranium force my skeleton to exit the body and dissolve into the rich soil of some far-off tranquillity.

Yet, there is a high level of complexity behind this placid journey…

The highly talented and internationally acclaimed South Korean composer Jin Hi Kim certainly paints a beautiful landscape with the dulcet tones resonating in her cosmic atmosphere. She is credited with introducing the western world and contemporary music scene to the fourth century fretted board zither, the Komungo. Studying traditional Korean music from the age of 16 she later grew interested in learning about the music and cultures of other nations and countries. Emigrating to the United States of America in 1980, Jin Hi Kim has carved out a fruitful career working with and performing alongside musicians from around the globe. Incorporating traditional Korean methods to her work she also integrates her own style of which she has dubbed ‘living tones’ which explores various melodic forms and musical technicalities. Describing this concept, she explains that ‘The conceptual basis for living tones, which is the essential element in Korean traditional music, is that each tone is alive, embodying its own individual shape, sound, texture, vibrato, glissando, expressive nuances, and dynamics. ‘Living tones’ can take on a dramatic weight that makes music rich.’

Watching live footage of Jin Hi Kim playing the acoustic or her very own self-designed electric Komungo is fascinating. Her fast paced attitude to playing summons our true emotions, conjuring a state of euphoria or even dark psychosis. In a TV interview with Korean broadcasting channel AriangTV, the enthusiastic presenter observes that Jin Hi Kim is more famous abroad than in her home country of Korea. It is also discussed that the Komungo was always traditionally played by male scholars for court music rather than folk music. Austere in purpose, Jin Hi Kim has in fact pushed boundaries by designing the electric Komungo and its accompanying computer program. In one of PRI’s The World weekday interview features, Jin Hi Kim states that ‘when I meet new orchestral members I communicate with them that it’s the attitude and how you express your soul in the orchestra.’ And this is clearly what matters to her.

Emergency The small time Portland post punk band Emergency...

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 20:42:44 +0100

Emergency

The small time Portland post punk band Emergency always had a sense of awkward urgency, shedding layers of corrosive skin with impulsive clumsiness. Their vocal sputtering and guttural splattering’s alerting the listener with dangerous intentions. Made up of Paul Dickow on drums, Ben Lund on bass, Amy Suzanne Heneveld on guitar and lastly vocalist Ethan Swan, the four abused their means of music-making with an assortment of loud and off-kilter arrangements, flinging blobs of sound with childlike charm onto an insipid wall. Yet, not much is known of Emergency, their only full length album being a rare, screen-printed and recycled inside-out LP on Portland local label Archigramophone Records. The Less I Know is a bizarre trip into minds unknown transmitting songs titles such as ‘Spit With Poison In Your Mouth’ and ‘Tongues In Their Eyes.’ The DIY band also shared a split LP with San Francisco’s spiky electro-punkers Numbers.

Emergency drummer Paul Dickow went on to form the ambient electronica outfit Strategy and is also part of outfits Nudge, One Human Minute and Sound People. As Strategy, you feel as though you are being swathed in summer haze, sinking further into the sofa, all enraptured by slow, timeless sounds drifting like gentle conveyor belts in and out of the mind. It’s fair to say that Strategy is a million miles away from the muddled art punk of Emergency.

Dickow recalls growing up in Idaho with his composer and amateur computer programmer father in which there were vintage synthesizers galore. He further expresses his interest in ‘80s synth-pop and drum machines but maintains a level of mystery about the music he creates, preferring to speak of the equipment, mixing, producing and circuit boards used to function his methods. In an interview with online electronic music magazine Resident Advisor he comments that ‘Programming is a learned thing, playing comes first for me. When I make a song, I don’t usually sit there and cut loops into shape. When I play drum machines and samples, I’m really playing them.’ He goes on to fondly recall ‘One of my early bands opened for Mouse On Mars and they recorded us playing and then sampled it into their set. That blew my world wide open.’

The Less I know is long overdue a spin, so I’m going home right now to dig it and dance all angular to its eccentric rhythms and bizarre lyrics… such as ‘LICK! LICK! LICK! LICK! STICKY! STICKY! STICKY! STICKY!’