"IF YOU WANT A VISION OF THE FUTURE, IMAGINE CRAP 808 SAMPLES STAMPING ON A HUMAN FACE- FOREVER"
First drop from Tallinn At Dawn follow up, Cabaret Cixous. Not Not Fun enjoying one of their best runs to date right now.
Zomby // †
Another brief glimpse into the fruits of Zomby’s extended absence; its pretty mighty. As per usual with each of Zomby’s reinventions, there’s a tunnel vision at work that sidesteps basically every current trend of the UK bass scene that has nurtured his ascent. And thank God for that. Whilst there’s (obviously) always lots of great dance music coming out of the UK, there’s been an increasing deluge of uninspiring, tepid politeness, descending what should be raw, sonically uncompromising music into indentikit tech house and grooveless, synth pad garage. Unfortunately these conventions are by and large stuck now, solidified by twin banners of embarrassment ”Post-Dubstep” and “Future Garage”. Defining things by their negatives is for suckers, but I am one so who cares; this is everything that that junk isn’t.
Simon
Another new release from Highpoint Lowlife that locks directly into the Always Everything axis, this time from Broken20 co-conspirator Dave Fyans, who records ambient drone as Erstlaub:
Sleepwalking Into The Underworld was sent to me billed as a full audio/visual piece, exploring the malleability of time and chaos theory. If that all sounds a little arch and conceptual, the piece itself – and the film that accompanies it – can just as easily be taken apart from the thoughts that drove its creation. Appropriately, given its watery theme, it’s a surprisingly immersive forty minutes, passing through curtains of static and strange ripples generated when different elements play off against one another. Shot in monochrome, the film itself leaves its imprint on the music – when absorbed by itself afterwards, it’s hard not to visualize unmoving columns of evergreens stretching into the distance.
You can watch the whole film here.
In Fyans’ own words:
“The piece is based around the concept of being drawn to places of resonance where the separation between different time periods are thin, specifically areas of historic spiritual importance, the title refers to the theme of ancestor worship and the idea of bodies of water being portals to the underworld. Visually the piece calls back the recurring themes of isolation within the vastness of the universe and stillness as a measure of time.
The piece is an expanded hypersigil created as a response to real world ideas and emotions but the space that exists between this inspiration and the final output is more than just a straight “musical” process. Elements of music theory, physics, maths play a part, as do the deeper concepts of chaos/pop magic, dimensionality within the universe and non-linear time.”
I watched for the first time it at about three in the morning, on the cusp of sleep, and it seems charged, primed with that hour of darkness: those moments immediately before the brain slips into unconsciousness, where time begins to flow freely and the mind begins to free associate. There’s obviously a level at which music like this – especially when based around this sort of concept – is psychedelic, as it plays havoc with perceptions of space and time in much the same way as a hallucinogen. Still, in this case, Fyans avoids typical contrived trappings of psychedelia in favour of something entirely subtler, and in doing so ends up being far more effective in conveying mood and idea. By the time I actually fell asleep I’d struggle to tell you whether I’d watched it for four or forty minutes.
Further transmissions from one of our favourite labels, one that’s sadly soon to be no more. For more Highpoint Lowlife info (and a link to buy the piece as standalone or on DVD), it’s well worth checking out their website, or the AE-penned pair of features (including an excellent mix from label boss Thorsten) on DiS.
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Rory
STELLAR OM SOURCE “MAGNETIC DEPTHS/RITES OF FUSION” from OLDE ENGLISH SPELLING BEE on Vimeo.
Another month, another haul of new Olde English Spelling Bee releases, proving time and time again to be way ahead of the curve. Heading up November’s batch comes synth sorceress Stellar OM Source’s excellent space odysessy Trilogy Select. Centred around gorgeous, unending Kosmische soundscapes, SOS’ work grips that sense of longing forever associated with infinite depths, bottomless oceans, and fathomless introspection. If you think all that sounds like the perfect companion piece to Oneohtrix Point Never’s excellent Returnal, you might be further intrigued to know ‘Rites Of Fusion’ is a collaboration with Mr OPN himself, Dan Lopatin. As always, OESB deliver the latest in Fully Immersive Audio-Visual Experience™ courtesy of another mind hacking video. This one is delivered by AAVV videos, traverse their previous transmissions here.
If that wasn’t exciting enough, preorders have now started for Skaters noiseniks James Ferraro and Spencer Clark (appearing in his Monopoly Child Star Searchers guise) newest solo outtings, and I have it on pretty good authority that these are their opuses. If you’ve been tracing the movements of Ferraro this past year I’m sure you’ll be as eager as I am to devour the latest in what appear to be steps towards the JF mind/music singularity. And if you’ll cast your thoughts back to this post on Sam Meringue’s latest Outer Limits Recordings movements, you’ll be happy to hear that they’ll be given tangible form via two hot, hot OESB 7”s. More on all of those as it comes, for now head to the OESB blog to preorder before November 15th and receive a whole VHS of their weirdo transmissions.
Catch Stellar OM Source weave her magic in London Oct 27th & 28th at Cafe Oto and Hoxton Bar & Kitchen respectively.
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Simon
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