delay, echo and reverb are some of the most important effects in music, often the effects that define the whole feel of a song, or even a genre. (Krautrock, New Wave, Shoegaze without these effects? impossible). it is actually one of the most basic and simple effects, compared to some of the more complex forms to process music. yet for literally decades, it was quite tricky to create before the advent of digital sound procession. basically what you have to do is to take part of the audio of a track, loop it (play it again) with slowly (or faster) fading volume each time. when perfoming live, the room the band plays in automatically adds reverberation to the sound. but how to recreate this with electric or electronic equipment? engineers came up with all kinds of adventurous solution to this... from reverb "spirals" and echo "plates" to tape delay effect units, which were amongst the most logical and most consequential solutions back in these days. but all these were far from being perfect. they could neither fully reproduce the sound as it was intended, nor the natural ambiance of a real room. often even change in temperature while perfoming would alter the sound slightly, or even more. they often had an artificial, outerwordly sound to them.
with digital sound processing, all these seemingly problems were over. a sound program, or workstation, or plugin could take a 100% copy of a sound and 100% correctly repeat it in echo and delay.
now, seemingly, all was well.
yet people started to realise that something was wrong. yes, the sound was perfect. but exactly because of this, it suddenly felt cold. dry. it has lost its sparkle. so a lot of people went back to the analog reverb units, especially those using it for their bands, but also people in the analog electronic music field.
it turned out that the imperfect, artificial, often low in frequency feel of the early reverb units was actually what added a lot of magic to the songs. it stood out. it gave the music a spacey feel. an otherworldly attribute.
the early sound of new wave and postpunk are unthinkably without the specialness of analog reverb. same goes for the krautrock of the 70s. or the rock'n'roll of the 50s. the outer world looped "woo!" shouted echos of the rocknroll singers that spiralled into psychedelia made up a large part of the impact of this type of music (note: for rock'n'roll, often even more "primitive" methods were seemingly used: the bands just played in large empty buildings during recordings, like farm silos).
the disadvantage was the advantage. the problem was the solution. that the units recreated the sounds imperfectly was the biggest plus. it was the whole point of them.
now on to social networks. before the advent of the internet and social networks, if you had a, let's say, strange taste in music, culture or politics, it was hard for you to find likeminded people. to reach out and get in contact with the others. to attain the music you like. to find out more information. to get fanzines or books if they were available.
now with social networks, this is wholly different. you can reach out to thousand of people. find dozens of new songs everyday. find every info about every band you ever want. see their concert videos or their studio work.
seemingly, this is good. but just like the example with the digital reverb units. it killed the magic. it made a lot of things disappear.
because that you had to *struggle* if you had a different or more sophisticated taste or point of view was the whole point. it was what made it worth it. it was what created results. that everything is so easy now in the internet age destroys so many things, it feels like too much to mention.
let me give an example. imagine you were the only one in your place to discover, krautrock, or punkrock, or techno first. at least the only one you knew of. so in order to spread this music, the ideas, to reach out to others, you had to do something. create a fanzine. annoy your record store to stock these records. organize a small concert in a local youth centre or another place. hand out flyers.
and by this, you already had created something. something beautiful. and out of this, more could grow. in your local record store you meet a girl that has similiar taste and you both start a band. and maybe you get picked up
and become known nationwide...
do you think you would start a band because you and others clicked on the same song on a social network page or commented on the same video? (note: one out of a billion it might happen... but much, much less than it was the case with real record shops).
the struggle was the point. it was what put things in place, enabled growth, and make wonderous things happen.
but don't get me wrong. life doesn't have to be hard. there are the solutions. but social networks are not the solution. and most other things on the internet are not either.
all you do is click, click, click, and nothing happens. watch videos like videos read biographies get news look up biographies. and nothing happens.
change this.
Montag, 5. Mai 2014
Why I Left The Breakcore Scene In 2001
the breakcore and experimental hardcore scene in the beginning revolved around a lot of radical, extreme, interesting, exciting, subversive and anarchist ideas. they were closely related - or similiar to those of guy debord, raoul vaneigem, hakim bey, ken knapp. even if one could argue that some artists did not directly espouse these ideas, at least they were similiar and it worked both ways. there were a lot of connections between, situationism, neo-luddites, "extropism" and the scene back then. especially, but not limited, through the free party scene then.
i don't know if i discovered these topics and ideas "through" the hardcore movement, or just around the same time, but both things fit very well together for me. in record names, track titles, interviews, and especially the magazines that were put out by the people, this connection of both things should probably become very clear. "pirate utopias", "chaos, mayhem and anarchy", and temporary autonomous zones, anyone?
now around 2000, things changed completely in the different direction. a new breakcore scene emerged, quickly replacing the old one, and they were very quick to jettison all the radical ideas. instead they took a for me extremly reactionary stance, celebrating market mechanisms and corporate pop culture, abandoning any attempts at social change, or radicalism.
this was the situation back then; i had started doing my own activites regarding hardcore and breakcore in 1997. my involvement was always about putting the aforementioned, and similiar, ideas accross. but with these new breakcore people this was simply not possible anymore.
now the thing is, you might say, okay ignore the others, and still try to put ideas accross, the majority will ignore them and maybe someone will listen to them.
but it was not as simply as that. the breakcore people, while maybe not understanding, were at least somehow aware of the ideas of the situationists and the others, but trying to coopt them and turning them around.
i came to the conclusion that it was simply not possible to put these ideas across, without them overtaking them or jamming them.
an example of this was pop sampling in hardcore tracks that was around in the 90s too (i'm not talking about the dance-scene related ID&T stuff here, but the extreme hardcore music). back then it was quite subversive. taking some bullshit pop singer crap, pitching it up until it sounds like a squealing weazle and give it the full-on 909 drum treatment. it was simply a "piss-off!" of all that pop crap that was around at the time.
with the breakcore crowd, this turned into pop crossovers, that were simply safe, that everyone done (and still does), and is not subversive at all. or does anyone claim these pop-breakcore tracks will incite any form of radical social change? not even the artists think that.
so for me it was very clear that i had to leave the breakcore sound behind, since it was simply not possible to get these radical ideas through anymore, not for me or for anyone else. now, in hindsight, this conclusion came maybe a bit early, and other artists and groups still tried to bring these things accross. but for me it is still the right decision.
especially, since back then, the upcoming speedcore, dance-orientated and doomcore scenes were very and extremely open to these ideas, so it was much better for me to be there then it would've been in the breakcore scene.
today, i wouldn't say the same about the current speedcore or mainstream hardcore world, but doomcore is still going strong.
addendum
i don't want to add this addendum, but i feel like i have to. some people might complain that i'm about "politics" or "ideology" and music should be kept free of them. while i don't think music should be free of it, principally, and situationism and neo-luddites, etc. were already beyond politics - and ideology - then simply drop the "politics" and think of radical, creative, extreme, exciting and interesting ideas. the sound was full of them - but with the breakcore scene, not anymore.
also i should add that i see this change in breakcore around 2000 as a - basically - totally deliberate move - not something that just (or inevitably) happened - even if the artists and people involved were not fully aware or conscious about it - to ultra-reactionism, or rather, ultra-boredom.
i don't know if i discovered these topics and ideas "through" the hardcore movement, or just around the same time, but both things fit very well together for me. in record names, track titles, interviews, and especially the magazines that were put out by the people, this connection of both things should probably become very clear. "pirate utopias", "chaos, mayhem and anarchy", and temporary autonomous zones, anyone?
now around 2000, things changed completely in the different direction. a new breakcore scene emerged, quickly replacing the old one, and they were very quick to jettison all the radical ideas. instead they took a for me extremly reactionary stance, celebrating market mechanisms and corporate pop culture, abandoning any attempts at social change, or radicalism.
this was the situation back then; i had started doing my own activites regarding hardcore and breakcore in 1997. my involvement was always about putting the aforementioned, and similiar, ideas accross. but with these new breakcore people this was simply not possible anymore.
now the thing is, you might say, okay ignore the others, and still try to put ideas accross, the majority will ignore them and maybe someone will listen to them.
but it was not as simply as that. the breakcore people, while maybe not understanding, were at least somehow aware of the ideas of the situationists and the others, but trying to coopt them and turning them around.
i came to the conclusion that it was simply not possible to put these ideas across, without them overtaking them or jamming them.
an example of this was pop sampling in hardcore tracks that was around in the 90s too (i'm not talking about the dance-scene related ID&T stuff here, but the extreme hardcore music). back then it was quite subversive. taking some bullshit pop singer crap, pitching it up until it sounds like a squealing weazle and give it the full-on 909 drum treatment. it was simply a "piss-off!" of all that pop crap that was around at the time.
with the breakcore crowd, this turned into pop crossovers, that were simply safe, that everyone done (and still does), and is not subversive at all. or does anyone claim these pop-breakcore tracks will incite any form of radical social change? not even the artists think that.
so for me it was very clear that i had to leave the breakcore sound behind, since it was simply not possible to get these radical ideas through anymore, not for me or for anyone else. now, in hindsight, this conclusion came maybe a bit early, and other artists and groups still tried to bring these things accross. but for me it is still the right decision.
especially, since back then, the upcoming speedcore, dance-orientated and doomcore scenes were very and extremely open to these ideas, so it was much better for me to be there then it would've been in the breakcore scene.
today, i wouldn't say the same about the current speedcore or mainstream hardcore world, but doomcore is still going strong.
addendum
i don't want to add this addendum, but i feel like i have to. some people might complain that i'm about "politics" or "ideology" and music should be kept free of them. while i don't think music should be free of it, principally, and situationism and neo-luddites, etc. were already beyond politics - and ideology - then simply drop the "politics" and think of radical, creative, extreme, exciting and interesting ideas. the sound was full of them - but with the breakcore scene, not anymore.
also i should add that i see this change in breakcore around 2000 as a - basically - totally deliberate move - not something that just (or inevitably) happened - even if the artists and people involved were not fully aware or conscious about it - to ultra-reactionism, or rather, ultra-boredom.
Why I Do Not Use Facebook.
i got a soundcloud account. i got a homepage. and a few other addresses where one can reach me or find my sounds.
i got 2 email accounts, and i am active on various forums, where people could send me a pm.
so if someone wants to listen to my sounds, he has the chance to do so. if someone wants to communicate with me, he can do so.
why should i use facebook then?
now the thing is then. if i would be on facebook, maybe more people would listen to my music. or more people would communicate with me.
but the thing is. this is not *real*. if they would be *really* interested in my music, they would get to my homepage, or my soundcloud etc. if they only listen to my music because it is on facebook, they are not really interested in it.
so what's the point in getting more listeners, or communicating more, by using facebook?
the thing is, again, this is not *real*.
if someone really wants to stay in contact with me, he doesn't need facebook to do so, but could get into contact with me in another way.
this is entirely the problem with facebook. who wouldn't want to have more listeners, or more people who get to know ones art? who is not interested in having more "friends"? facebook seemingly does provide this, but in *reality* it doesn't. it's just illusionary. the facebook listeners are not *real* listeners, the facebook friends are not real friends. your facebook fans are not your real fans (one might say: unless one got into contact / is into contact with them without facebook, and it is so to say, only by chance that they are on facebook).
if they were, they wouldn't need facebook to be so.
this is the point.
i got 2 email accounts, and i am active on various forums, where people could send me a pm.
so if someone wants to listen to my sounds, he has the chance to do so. if someone wants to communicate with me, he can do so.
why should i use facebook then?
now the thing is then. if i would be on facebook, maybe more people would listen to my music. or more people would communicate with me.
but the thing is. this is not *real*. if they would be *really* interested in my music, they would get to my homepage, or my soundcloud etc. if they only listen to my music because it is on facebook, they are not really interested in it.
so what's the point in getting more listeners, or communicating more, by using facebook?
the thing is, again, this is not *real*.
if someone really wants to stay in contact with me, he doesn't need facebook to do so, but could get into contact with me in another way.
this is entirely the problem with facebook. who wouldn't want to have more listeners, or more people who get to know ones art? who is not interested in having more "friends"? facebook seemingly does provide this, but in *reality* it doesn't. it's just illusionary. the facebook listeners are not *real* listeners, the facebook friends are not real friends. your facebook fans are not your real fans (one might say: unless one got into contact / is into contact with them without facebook, and it is so to say, only by chance that they are on facebook).
if they were, they wouldn't need facebook to be so.
this is the point.
Hippies, Punk And Techno And The Question Of Ideology
punk was a movement against the hippies that dominated a large part of the counter- and subcultures till then.
the hippies had spread their ideas and propositions of love, harmony, equality and justice, a revolution for peace, for over a decade, and the punks were fed up with this. this is tracable if one looks at some of the songs of that era. take "sonic destroyer" by the band rocket from the tombs, and then by the band dead boys, with its lines of "i don't need anyone[...]don't need no human race[...]don't even need you too".
this was written just a few years after woodstock and the high point what is now called "flower power". it's the complete opposite of anything the hippies stood for. no more coming together and being in joy and harmony.
no more idea of a community of peace and progress. the antithesis of any sweet&nice hippie song.
it's also clear in "final solution", a song played by (again) rocket from the tombs and pere ubu. "don't need no cure - need a final solution". again, a line that would fit not nicely to hippie concepts.
the dreams and ideals of the hippies had turned to dust and withered away. they turned out to be something that could not easily be put into reality, not something that could be put into practice, in the end.
so the punks rebelled against this. they attacked the ideologies of the hippies and left them behind. yet there was also something else in punk. punk was amongst the first modern subcultural movements that criticised the concept of *ideology* itself, that turned against any *ideology*. punk bands sometimes used communist and rightwing symbolism at the same time, to show that every ideology in the end is devoid of meaning, and dangerous if followed with fanaticism.
now the problem of punk was that punk itself was and turned into an ideology very quickly. certain ideas, attitudes, hairstyles and clothing became and were a doctrine for punks, and punk became just as conformistic as any other braindead political movement. instead of following society, they followed the just as boring ideals of their "scene".
yet i think there was also something else in punk, a spark, that managed to break free of any ideology...
this rare, sugarsweet, happy-melancholic nihilism that one sometimes can feel at punk concerts...
so punk challenged ideology and failed in the end. what could come after this? punk had the most radical and extreme ideology then - against everything society and the "western world" stood for. how could you top this?
easily. drop ideology all together.
this is what techno did.
techno tried to break free of any ideology and launched a full-on attack on them.
one should maybe look at the situation in music at the time techno came around, especially in the subculture.
indie bands were hyped, the shoegaze sound was starting to grow. bands with elegic, over-produced songs, with "deep", intellectual lyrics, tales of tragic love, worries, melancholy.
techno had nothing of this. just dance to the beat, man! just stop worrying, enjoy your live, enjoy this momement.
this is something the rock crowd never forgave techno. that techno never cared about the "deep" issues of life, but unlike disco, which these people somehow justify and enjoy, that techno, basically, conciously decided to reject them. enjoy the lasers and the synth stabs and please don't talk or worry too much.
this can be seen in, for example, the use of samples of political speeches or philosophical text, that were common in early techno productions. unlike earlier music with similiar things, there was no intent to make the listener actually engage in politics and no need for him to follow a specific philosophy.
it is often overlooked how ultimately nihilistic techno in its consequences was.
the hippies had spread their ideas and propositions of love, harmony, equality and justice, a revolution for peace, for over a decade, and the punks were fed up with this. this is tracable if one looks at some of the songs of that era. take "sonic destroyer" by the band rocket from the tombs, and then by the band dead boys, with its lines of "i don't need anyone[...]don't need no human race[...]don't even need you too".
this was written just a few years after woodstock and the high point what is now called "flower power". it's the complete opposite of anything the hippies stood for. no more coming together and being in joy and harmony.
no more idea of a community of peace and progress. the antithesis of any sweet&nice hippie song.
it's also clear in "final solution", a song played by (again) rocket from the tombs and pere ubu. "don't need no cure - need a final solution". again, a line that would fit not nicely to hippie concepts.
the dreams and ideals of the hippies had turned to dust and withered away. they turned out to be something that could not easily be put into reality, not something that could be put into practice, in the end.
so the punks rebelled against this. they attacked the ideologies of the hippies and left them behind. yet there was also something else in punk. punk was amongst the first modern subcultural movements that criticised the concept of *ideology* itself, that turned against any *ideology*. punk bands sometimes used communist and rightwing symbolism at the same time, to show that every ideology in the end is devoid of meaning, and dangerous if followed with fanaticism.
now the problem of punk was that punk itself was and turned into an ideology very quickly. certain ideas, attitudes, hairstyles and clothing became and were a doctrine for punks, and punk became just as conformistic as any other braindead political movement. instead of following society, they followed the just as boring ideals of their "scene".
yet i think there was also something else in punk, a spark, that managed to break free of any ideology...
this rare, sugarsweet, happy-melancholic nihilism that one sometimes can feel at punk concerts...
so punk challenged ideology and failed in the end. what could come after this? punk had the most radical and extreme ideology then - against everything society and the "western world" stood for. how could you top this?
easily. drop ideology all together.
this is what techno did.
techno tried to break free of any ideology and launched a full-on attack on them.
one should maybe look at the situation in music at the time techno came around, especially in the subculture.
indie bands were hyped, the shoegaze sound was starting to grow. bands with elegic, over-produced songs, with "deep", intellectual lyrics, tales of tragic love, worries, melancholy.
techno had nothing of this. just dance to the beat, man! just stop worrying, enjoy your live, enjoy this momement.
this is something the rock crowd never forgave techno. that techno never cared about the "deep" issues of life, but unlike disco, which these people somehow justify and enjoy, that techno, basically, conciously decided to reject them. enjoy the lasers and the synth stabs and please don't talk or worry too much.
this can be seen in, for example, the use of samples of political speeches or philosophical text, that were common in early techno productions. unlike earlier music with similiar things, there was no intent to make the listener actually engage in politics and no need for him to follow a specific philosophy.
it is often overlooked how ultimately nihilistic techno in its consequences was.
the guy on the dancefloor at 6am doesn't care about anything in the societal world anymore, he is in his own world.
Review: Senical - Dark Domestic Temper - Killing Rate 2
senical works on killing rate are imho his best.
the dark vinyl with its gloomy blue printing prepares us for what is to come on this record.
i will focus only on the tracks that i assume to be the best, or most interesting, this time:
A2 more mellow than most of the other tracks here. a very technoid feel, with a long, multi-channel build up. when the melody comes in, it is killer. we have exotic space synth hits that could be used in a movie such as blade runner. beat and melody stay with us for a long time, and this creates an intricate hypnotic feel. i guess this track would work wonders on a crowd on dancefloor in a dark, strobe flashed location. the, almost, howling synth at the end makes a great finish to this wonderful track.
B1 non-4/4 floor beats make a nice change here. it's hard to describe the feel of the track; it is almost electronesque. maybe if electro was done by a kind of cyborg soldier from the future. it has one of these almost oriental sounding melodies i adore in hardcore and techno of that era so much, based on high filtered saw-waves.
the build-up in this track is strong, as usual with senical, and deep space fx add the finishing touch here.
B2 the space beauty of the other track is exchanged with jackhammer romance here. noises, screaming machines, pain, all around. the speedcore bits are another nice touch. this track proves how powerful and disturbing analogue equipment can be used.
B3 for me, this is the true gem of this record. marching drums come in, supported by a powerful techno beat. it goes, hypnotically, along like this. till the melody comes. and this melody is so deep space, so otherwordly, so far away in the universe, i can't describe. it could be the fuel for the most vivid dreams. it sounds as it was sent straight from the year 3035. this shows the true and deep skill of senical, and makes for a perfect ending track. of a wonderful, great record.
the dark vinyl with its gloomy blue printing prepares us for what is to come on this record.
i will focus only on the tracks that i assume to be the best, or most interesting, this time:
A2 more mellow than most of the other tracks here. a very technoid feel, with a long, multi-channel build up. when the melody comes in, it is killer. we have exotic space synth hits that could be used in a movie such as blade runner. beat and melody stay with us for a long time, and this creates an intricate hypnotic feel. i guess this track would work wonders on a crowd on dancefloor in a dark, strobe flashed location. the, almost, howling synth at the end makes a great finish to this wonderful track.
B1 non-4/4 floor beats make a nice change here. it's hard to describe the feel of the track; it is almost electronesque. maybe if electro was done by a kind of cyborg soldier from the future. it has one of these almost oriental sounding melodies i adore in hardcore and techno of that era so much, based on high filtered saw-waves.
the build-up in this track is strong, as usual with senical, and deep space fx add the finishing touch here.
B2 the space beauty of the other track is exchanged with jackhammer romance here. noises, screaming machines, pain, all around. the speedcore bits are another nice touch. this track proves how powerful and disturbing analogue equipment can be used.
B3 for me, this is the true gem of this record. marching drums come in, supported by a powerful techno beat. it goes, hypnotically, along like this. till the melody comes. and this melody is so deep space, so otherwordly, so far away in the universe, i can't describe. it could be the fuel for the most vivid dreams. it sounds as it was sent straight from the year 3035. this shows the true and deep skill of senical, and makes for a perfect ending track. of a wonderful, great record.
Review: Miro - Purple Moon / Understand - DE 2052
it somewhat doesn't feel right to review this record, as it has already be done a dozen times by other people. yet is one of miro pajic's most intriguing works, and worth reviewing.
when it came out, before, there was nothing. there was nothing like it. you can check the backcatalogues of the labels of that era, and you will see there isn't any record like this. maybe some earlier works of miro only can contend. and afterwards, there is nothing either. except for miro's tracks of course. but, as far as i can tell, no artist after this record has managed to pull off something similiar as this. it is definately one of the early highs of miro's music journey.
A1 Purple Moon
this is it. the purple moon. do i need to describe it? outer space beats open this records. we are moved along, more elements are added. while this track paces as a fast speed, it is nothing like the "hardcore" of it's time. this track feels more as if one of the great sonic pioneers such as jarre or klaus schulze had their go at techno, as if this was done by a techno man on a techno label. then, the breakdown, and the high-cutoff-synth-saws come in. i listen to a lot of music; especially melodical music. but this melody is something that is in a field of its own. i rarely heard something as beautiful; as sweet; as moving, as the harmonies of this track. it seems simple at first, but, in its simplicity it is extraordinary complex. the melody is what drives this tracks, and it creates a special track.
B2 Understand
this track is often overlooked in favor of purple moon. but, not rightly so. this too is one of miro and PCP's greatest work. the rising synth sound prepares us for what is to come here. i can't say what image this track invokes in me - a space station, space exploration, or an alien meeting somewhere far in the universe? but it is a powerful image.
the melody again is the main thing for me here, less melancholic, yet as powerful, and more complicated as in purple moon. i could listen to it in a loop for a long time.
the track is more of a hardcore affair than purple moon, yet again far removed from the normal "hardcore" of it's time. this track is a gem, and the whole record is a precious jewel.
when it came out, before, there was nothing. there was nothing like it. you can check the backcatalogues of the labels of that era, and you will see there isn't any record like this. maybe some earlier works of miro only can contend. and afterwards, there is nothing either. except for miro's tracks of course. but, as far as i can tell, no artist after this record has managed to pull off something similiar as this. it is definately one of the early highs of miro's music journey.
A1 Purple Moon
this is it. the purple moon. do i need to describe it? outer space beats open this records. we are moved along, more elements are added. while this track paces as a fast speed, it is nothing like the "hardcore" of it's time. this track feels more as if one of the great sonic pioneers such as jarre or klaus schulze had their go at techno, as if this was done by a techno man on a techno label. then, the breakdown, and the high-cutoff-synth-saws come in. i listen to a lot of music; especially melodical music. but this melody is something that is in a field of its own. i rarely heard something as beautiful; as sweet; as moving, as the harmonies of this track. it seems simple at first, but, in its simplicity it is extraordinary complex. the melody is what drives this tracks, and it creates a special track.
B2 Understand
this track is often overlooked in favor of purple moon. but, not rightly so. this too is one of miro and PCP's greatest work. the rising synth sound prepares us for what is to come here. i can't say what image this track invokes in me - a space station, space exploration, or an alien meeting somewhere far in the universe? but it is a powerful image.
the melody again is the main thing for me here, less melancholic, yet as powerful, and more complicated as in purple moon. i could listen to it in a loop for a long time.
the track is more of a hardcore affair than purple moon, yet again far removed from the normal "hardcore" of it's time. this track is a gem, and the whole record is a precious jewel.
Review: Fisch 22 - Auto-Psy - Necrophage
i picked this up as a white label from the container record store. this was one of the earliest releases of mouse aka stella michelsen - the 3rd or the 4th? i had listened to fisch 18 by her, and was enchanted by it.
the record came with a group of poems in the sleeve, one for each of the tracks. i thought this was a a nice touch, and the poems were touching. it is something i am missing with hardcore releases today - especially the connection with artforms such as poetry.
A2 i'll start with the second track so it's a bit of a change of order. this is one of the roughest track i heard at that time (i considered it to be the hardest track). after the creepy intro, killer bassdrums hit you hard in the head. very industrial sounding, very metallic, very dirty. they have a bit of a varispeed thing to them, which is nice too. the track keeps pounding the whole minutes it runs through. weirded-out, surreal, psycho samples come and go and make it somewhat of a sonic journey - a very fulfilling journey.
A1 the starter track. i remember the poem linked it somewhat to the "nerve cables" inside ones head being torn apart as being the sound source of the first seconds. a very fitting comparising. this is full on noise, yet not in a wall of white noise way, but screeches, ringing, like fingers running along the chalkboard to drive you mad. excellent!
B1 frantic, frantic, frantic. again. yet, this track also has somewhat of a relaxing feel. various "ambient" sounds - dark ambient - are employed here. the kick brakes down, comes back in, drags you forward. this has somewhat of a very interesting feel. different planet hardcore.
B2 next to A2 my favorite track on this record. it seems to me generally the B side on this record is more calm than side A? calm is an understatement though, since this is as frantic, hectic and brutal and it can get with hardcore. again we have a full on attack of noises and surreal, spacy sounds. the last seconds of this track are my favorite part, also my favorite part of this record. strange, bizarre, reverberated sounds that fade out and leave you on into your dreams - or rather, nightmares.
the record came with a group of poems in the sleeve, one for each of the tracks. i thought this was a a nice touch, and the poems were touching. it is something i am missing with hardcore releases today - especially the connection with artforms such as poetry.
A2 i'll start with the second track so it's a bit of a change of order. this is one of the roughest track i heard at that time (i considered it to be the hardest track). after the creepy intro, killer bassdrums hit you hard in the head. very industrial sounding, very metallic, very dirty. they have a bit of a varispeed thing to them, which is nice too. the track keeps pounding the whole minutes it runs through. weirded-out, surreal, psycho samples come and go and make it somewhat of a sonic journey - a very fulfilling journey.
A1 the starter track. i remember the poem linked it somewhat to the "nerve cables" inside ones head being torn apart as being the sound source of the first seconds. a very fitting comparising. this is full on noise, yet not in a wall of white noise way, but screeches, ringing, like fingers running along the chalkboard to drive you mad. excellent!
B1 frantic, frantic, frantic. again. yet, this track also has somewhat of a relaxing feel. various "ambient" sounds - dark ambient - are employed here. the kick brakes down, comes back in, drags you forward. this has somewhat of a very interesting feel. different planet hardcore.
B2 next to A2 my favorite track on this record. it seems to me generally the B side on this record is more calm than side A? calm is an understatement though, since this is as frantic, hectic and brutal and it can get with hardcore. again we have a full on attack of noises and surreal, spacy sounds. the last seconds of this track are my favorite part, also my favorite part of this record. strange, bizarre, reverberated sounds that fade out and leave you on into your dreams - or rather, nightmares.
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