Warning : This CD may get you beat up just for listening to it.
Dragging back out of the shadows uber-nerdy cold synths and icy drum machines fed through a ring modulator, the folks at Minimal Wave have brought back a sound lost over the decades as better technology shadowed its predecessors. Presented here are not classic recordings, but ultra-rare items from the early 80s industrial/synth/post-punk era such as limited edition cassettes and small press vinyl that were probably never meant to be heard by anyone other than die-hard fans and friends. Minimal and lo-fi, it’s the kind of music only geeks, freaks, and Germans in black turtlenecks with monkeys on their shoulders could love, created by art-school drop outs and/or kids that could manage to plunk down the cash for top of the line electronics but had no idea what to do with it. The end result is an amazing time capsule which seems to explain the missing links between the likes of Cabaret Voltaire, Gary Numan, Joy Division, Devo, Kraftwerk and modern EBM/industrial. Highly recommended as both a history lesson for newbies and a surprisingly obscure collection for seasoned veterans.
Experiment Haywire’s remix album Remix Riot has assembled some big names and a lot of rising stars. Such acts as; Leaether Strip, XP8, Blank, Soman, and twelve others. With a nice solid foundation of eight original tracks taken off of three different albums. The remixers went to work, chewed up the original, and spit out tracks that are unmistakably theirs and at the same time it is definitely Rachel Haywire belting out the lyrics. The remixes are different from each other, when compairing two remixes it’s almost impossible to tell that it’s the same song. It also amazed me when listening through the CD with only glancing at the track list that I could pick out who made what remix. This being said, if you are a die-hard fan of any of the remixers then this album is a must. Almost all the tracks should tare up the dance floors with a few exceptions, “Army Or Two (Out Out 2 Treatment)” and “Game Called Life (Autoclav 1.1 Vivify mix)” come to mind. Overall I was pleased more with this album when coming from a DJs point of view and less in terms of “pop this in and do my daily routine”.
recommended tracks : Game Called Life (Leaether Strip Mix), Mean Enough Hot Enough (Vicious Alliance Just An Animal Mix), Stereo Type (Soman Re:Work) if you like you may like : Any of the remixers, Angel Spit grade : overall 7 – music 8 – lyrics 7 – recording quality 9
released by : Mute on 24 March 2009 data : 1st album . 10 tracks . 48:11 run time . www.feverray.com
digital download available now genre : experimental, ambient, electronic
Fever Ray is the self-titled solo project of Karin Dreijer Andersson. Andersson is also half of the band, The Knife. Fever Ray features a lot of the same textures as The Knife. Present again is Andersson’s natural pixie voice, inviting comparisons to Bjork or Siouxsie Sioux. The vocals are pitch-shifted vocals and move from quiet and brittle to cavernous and sinister. Also present are the subtle minimalist programming techniques used on The Knife’s Silent Shout. Where Fever Ray really differs, is where it favors a more subdued ambient approach rather than the kinetic energy of The Knife. Each song takes on a quality of incantation or prayer with the narrator alternating from vulnerable and lost to confident and strong; innocence to experience in both lyrics and composition. (more…)
released by : Metropolis Records on 03 February 2009 data : 5th album . 12 tracks . 69:55 run time . www.seabound.de genre : synthpop
Let’s be honest, I’m a big Seabound fan and when I heard that a new album was coming out I was excited. I crave to hear new music, especially since their last new material, Double-Crosser, was released in late 2006. When I heard about their release of Come Forward / Live in Berlin, I was shaking my head in disappointment. This was just a release of older tracks that have been remixed. Some are unreleased and well, others found their way on to compilations albums. It’s true that you won’t find new songs here but this album is presented in such a way that I was not disappointed. Over the course of the album there are only two repeats of songs. The versions of the remixes are different enough to keep you from getting bored like you may if you were listening to a single.
Overall, I’m pleased with this release. Being a DJ, I usually hunt out tracks that are released on overseas compilations only hearing three out of twelve of the tracks. It’s not brand new material, yet I still found freshness in the release. When Black Beats Blue is compiled of well done remixes of great tracks and I am glad that Seabound decided to release them. Let’s just hope they have a new album on the way.
recommended tracks : Domination vs. Bound (Mindless Faith), Hooked (Radical Alt. Vocal) if you like you may like : Edge of Dawn , Covenant grade : overall 7 – music 8 – lyrics 8 – recording quality 9
