The Answer Is In The Beat

Viki Viktoria: New Victorian LP (Midwich Productions, 2017)

February 5, 2017 at 10:13 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Barring a few limited cassettes, this is the first proper release from Viki Viktoria (formerly just Viki) in at least a decade, and it’s on Magas’ incredible Midwich Productions. Her recordings and performances are always unpredictable, ranging from noisier sound design experiments to lo-fi techno, and this one especially seems hard to pin down. Both sides contain a single track, about 15 minutes each, and they seem like they could be broken up into movements for convenience’s sake, but they’re really best experienced as a whole. Tempos shift, zombie-like voices call out from the dead, soundwaves swarm and stun. The first side starts out playful but gets darker and borderline psychotic. The second side slowly sputters down to a crawl before flipping a switch and launching into something more haunted. Mark Salwowski’s artwork depicting creepy, possessed children is entirely appropriate. Another fascinating release from one of Detroit’s most original electronic artists.

Tangent: Collapsing Horizons (n5MD, 2016)

February 2, 2017 at 6:51 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

n5MD for a Dutch duo who do a really detailed, cold, prickly sort of IDM. This is the type of music that sounds like it’s very well thought out and deliberate, but still freeform and organically flowing. Crinkly, crackly micro-rhythms and erratic heartbeats, glitches, dark blooming/flowing melodies. Feels like being trapped in a snowstorm but there’s still a source of radiant light. “Distorted Perspective” and “Dissolution” have the most grooving beats. Really good album. Just listen and feel. Vinyl and digital available on Bandcamp.

Membranes: Inner Space/Outer Space (Louder Than War, 2016)

January 27, 2017 at 10:37 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

The Membranes are a post-punk band who formed in the early ’80s, went on hiatus in 1990, and reformed in 2009. They played an ATP festival at the request of My Bloody Valentine, released some EPs, and then scientifically-minded album Dark Matter/Dark Energy in 2015. This is its remix album. It ventures into dub, industrial, and dark trip-hop, among other styles. Think late ’90s/early ’00s Primal Scream, but only occasionally as angry or noisy. The first 2 tracks are dark and lush, then “Do The Supernova (Phillip Boa Remix)” is more of an industrial rock rave-up. Soundtrack composer (and Pop Will Eat Itself founder) Clint Mansell turns “The Universe Explodes Into A Billion Photons Of Pure White Light” into a suspenseful, solemn orchestral piece… with distant airhorns! “21st Century Man” gets a heavy as fuck, sludgy, noisy mix by the almighty Godflesh. Easily the highlight of the disc for me. “Space Junk (Reverend And The Makers Remix)” is straight up DMZ-style dubstep with melodica. Keith Leven’s take on “Space Junk” is a spacey, drummy, exploratory instrumental. Youth’s mix of “Hail to the Lovers” is kind of a Balearic dub track, with big echoey drums and crazy echo effects, occasionally flaring up into drum’n’bass-like rhythms. “5776 (The Breathing Song) (Die Fliedermaus Remix)” is a slow, sax-heavy version of a song about how all the stars you see shining in the night sky have probably died millions of years ago. The other take on “Space Junk” is a slow, kinda rusty mix by Mark Stewart. “In the Graveyard” gets a heavy dub mix by Carter Tutti (aka Chris & Cosey). “Magic Eye (To See The Sky)” is remixed by Iranian band Barfak, and it blends Arabic instruments and vocals with sparse downtempo beats and vocoders. Therapy?’s mix of “Hail to the Lovers” is slow and kinda stompy, and the vocals and guitars eventually get shattered and erode away at the end. The last tracks are slower and more sloth-like (and “The Hum Of The Universe (Alexander Hacke Remix)” ends with a mantra).