Proem - Till There's No Breath (Nonresponse)

Proem doesn’t waste any time in setting the scene on Till There’s No Breath. On opening track These Are Demands, it’s as if there is a massive space ship descending from the sky, metal screeching and thrusters on full blast as it lands right in front of you. There are echoes of distorted alien-sounding voices mixed into the grating wall of metallic noise. The atmosphere is filled with foreboding. And it doesn’t let up on A Skin That Crawls, with its huge thumping footsteps echoing off the walls of what could be an underground sewer or cavern. If these words sound over the top, I defy you to listen to this music without having your imagination run rampant. And the rather disturbing track titles -- A Skin That Burns, Faceeater, Deadplate, Dull Throbbing – will inevitably nudge you in a particular direction. This is a dark place and death hangs in the air. But it’s not the kind of malevolence that hits you over the head with a hammer. It’s a quiet menace. An ambient nightmare. Like when the fellowship in the Lord of the Rings entered the Mines of Moria, you know that evil lurks deep within. Or at least an amoral consciousness. The title track Till There’s No Breath evokes a sensation of paralysis. Like being unable to move and helpless to escape the unthinkable. The man behind these disquieting soundscapes and the Proem moniker, is Houston, Texas resident Richard Bailey. He has been releasing music since 1999 on labels like Merck, n5MD, and Hydrant, and Till There’s No Breath is his seventh full-length album, his first for the recently resurrected Nonresponse imprint. It’s quite a departure for Bailey. His previous releases have been of the classic IDM variety and he has been seen as one of the early members of the US-based IDM scene that started around 2000. Till There’s No Breath, on the other hand, is pure dark ambient. Save for one or two tracks, Proem does away completely with the beats. The sound design and textures are the thing... and they are impressive. Thankfully, Proem’s world is not a bottomless pit of doom. After the detachment of Faceeater, the mood lightens with Coil In Small Field. It’s as if there’s a break in the clouds, if only temporarily. Bright pads suggest that something positive is happening, although the deep rumble in the background refuses to give way. Alas, in the end, after the brighter tones have evaporated, the sense of unease remains. Nevertheless, the second half of the album is calmer and less oppressive. The subtle glitchy beat of Alt Enter The Busket will even get your toe tapping and head nodding. And Dull Throbbing is more soothing than anything that precedes it. The metallic grating, distorted rumbles and alien noises of the first half of the album have completely given way to gentler synth washes that sound at times like a church organ in the distance. All in all, it’s an immersive piece of work from Bailey. He paints a vivid picture, although it may not be one that you’ll want to look at for too long at a time. The release includes a free digital EP, the code to which is hidden in the physical artwork. If you own a digital copy, send Proem a screen shot of your receipt and he'll furnish the login details. The artwork on the album is made up of seven separate watercolor paintings that Bailey made and then stitched together in Photoshop. The full poster is available for viewing and purchase on the Proem's site in the merchandise section. Recommended if you like the dark soundscapes of Murcof, Hecq, Lustmord and The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation.

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Original review posted by Tigon on Tigon World.
Republished with permission of the author.

proemland.com | placeguntohead.com
myspace.com/nonresponse | nonresponse.com

Murcof - The Versailles Sessions (Leaf)

I am way overdue to give this album a proper review. I first heard The Versailles Sessions back at the end of 2008, when this Leaf release immediately made it on to my Best of 2008 list. Then, as time flew by, I was expecting to cover the upcoming release, Océano. The latter is expected to be a fourth installment in a five part album series, that spells out Fernando Corona's shortened Murcof alias with the initial letters of the titles (Martes, Ulysses, Remembranza, Cosmos, Océano, F___?). Alas, Océano is still in post-production. Meanwhile, The Versailles Sessions still haunts me at night. During the 50-minute experience, the instruments howl, screech, and cry in a tormented industrial prison of sound. Intense heartburn of horror rises through the pulled and scratched strings until it spills over into the bile of harmony. Rhythmic structure ignores the background beating of sacrificial drums, as the violins tune up into the unison of terror. Darkness surrounds all, as the melodies creep up the underground stairs towards the purity of light. In The Versailles Sessions, Murcof creates one of the most dramatic, suspenseful and cinematic soundtracks to date. The imaginary film consists of the images from the annual festival of sound, light and water at the Chateaue de Versailles. The score is composed entirely out of 17th century instruments, such as harpsichord, flute, violin and viola de gamba, and is performed by a troupe of professional baroque musicians. This commissioned release for the festival's Les Grandes Eaux Nocturnes, is unlike any of Fernando's previous albums. In 2002, Martes hit the scene to overwhelming critical acclaim, juxtaposing samples of Arvo Pärt and Morton Feldman over deep rolling bass and micro programmed beats. The Mexican producer followed up his debut with an even more elegant and mature production. With Cosmos, you simply fly away (a must, in any serious connoisseur's library). But The Versailles Sessions stands out completely in its own spectrum of compositions. The dark ambient and modern classical passages haunt the listener into a corner of eerie memories and distant fears, evoking an unnatural response of increased blood pressure and cold sweat. Highly recommended for the likes of Deaf Center, Julien Neto, releases by Alva Noto + Ryuchi Sakamoto, Kangding Ray, Dictaphone and Arovane. If you're digging around to complete your Murcof discography, pick up Corona's release as Terrestre, Secondary Inspection (Static Discos, 2004), and Terrestre vs. Plankton Man (Nimboestatic, 2004) as well as his collaboration with H.Amézquita, C.I.D.I. (AR) (Statis Discos, 2004), and his latest work with Erik Truffaz, titled Mexico (Blue Note, 2008). Best of 2008 for sure!

myspace.com/murcof | murcof.com
myspace.com/theleaflabel | theleaflabel.com

Plastikman - Closer (M_nus / NovaMute)

This flashback is supposed to be another installmanet of my Random Vinyl of the Week series. But I'm already cheating... A little bit... I did indeed pull out this triple twelve-incher from my vast record library (the correct term is discothèque, right?). But it is still shrink wrapped! You can't expect me to break the seal on this collector's item, can you? And, of course, I have a CD version of this 2003 album right here. Plus the disk release contains four extra tracks! So back it goes, whence it came from, to age and marinate some more. Meanwhile, Richie Hawtin is already thumping, laying out some mean bass over reverberated strings. I turn up the volume. I always turn up the volume for Plastikman. Hawtin's control over dynamic range of cranium vibrating bass, and tiny little white noises in the background always creates a hypnotic experience. The pitched down, evil, and creepy Hawtin's voice is reciting some dark lyrics: "I don't know what's left to gain / All the guilt and now the blame / I don't want to stop this game / I'm starting to enjoy the pain." The rolling lower frequencies are penetrating every nook of my studio. The light bulbs are shaking in their sockets. Something just fell in the deep cavern of my closet. Closer is an intense experience, with little release, like an involuntary muscle spasm induced by an alternating current. The themes of paranoia, schizophrenia, and claustrophobia saturate the music. Is this what we get when we get closer to Hawtin? The album tends to continue the discomforting ground work laid out in Plastikman's previous minimal release, Consumed (M_nus, 1998). Moving further away from staple sound of 909 repetitive techno beats, 303 acid sweeps, never ending delays and mind warping arpeggios, Ontario based Hawtin continues his exploration into the deep, the dark and the minimal. A lot of people have dismissed Plastikman as just another speck in the Detroit techno scene of the early 90s, being in the right place at the right time. And at times I wonder if his sound is only exciting because I've been listening to his earlier albums, Sheet One (1993), Musik (1994), and Recycled Plastik (1994) nonstop back in the 90s. But as I mature, revisit, and analyze the sound [which continues to be imitated by many up and comers], I think Richie is here to stay. Even if we haven't heard from him in over five years! Hawtin's owned Canadian labels, Plus 8 and M_nus continue to thrive and output some solid material. For a quick taste of 2008 releases check out Heartthrob's Dear Painter, Paint Me and Gaiser's Blank Fade.



myspace.com/plastikman | plastikman.com
myspace.com/min2max | m-nus.com

The Future Sound Of London - Dead Cities (Virgin)

This is obviously an amazing record to start off my Random Vinyl of the Week adventure, as I dig through my dusty archives. Released in 1996, Dead Cities was Garry Cobain and Brian Dougans' fourth full length album as The Future Sound of London. Dead Cities was that very last record and then there was a torturing silence for six years. Even when the duo returned in 2002 with The Isness, it was ... not the same... How can one describe the layered dark samples with memorable vocal lines that are implanted in my brain? "I have killed a man. A man who looked like me." The album is an absolute classic, and its complex ambient and cinematic fragments continue to offer new insight into the minds of FSOL. Dead Cities was not received with as much success as my absolute favorite, earlier 1994 release Lifeforms [the latter climbed to 6 position on the UK Album Charts, while Dead Cities got up to 22]. The music of Dead Cities features more sampled beats carefully blending in big-beat and bringing trip-hop into the mix. We Have Explosive (which also came out as a single) features several samples from Run DMC's album Tougher Than Leather. The rest of the sounds [all very dear and familiar to my mind at this point] all convey the atmosphere of urban decay. An album from the future that rusted in the past. Like a empty feeling after watching a rerun of Blade Runner [and the sample off Mary Hopkin's vocals from the movie's soundtrack], the eerie nostalgia of revisiting a dirty old friend crackles in the hindsight. Oh, and how's this for a shocker for you. On one of the tracks guess who's playing piano? I'll give you a hint. The title of the track is Max and the pianist's last name is Richter. In addition to restructured MIDI files, Max Richter has also contributed  other recordings and "environments". The album cover (and the two inserts that house the double vinyl) feature 3D graphics and digitally processed photography by Buggy G. Riphead. This is one of the albums to hold in your hands and marvel at its grandiose and epic stand in time. Since 2007, FSOL has opened up their vault and released a collection of forgotten tracks from their library, titled From The Archives (it is now up to its 5th volume). I hope I have excited you enough to revisit Dead Cities through my first adventure of Random Vinyl of the Week. I know that I have worked myself up enough to seek out the limited box set release [complete with a booklet!!!], and am now waiting for it to arrive in the mail!

myspace.com/thefuturesoundoflondon | futuresoundoflondon.com

Lustmord - [ O T H E R ] (Hydra Head)

Lock all the doors and walk up the stairs. Turn down the lights and slightly raise the volume. Breathe slowly and try not to wet your pants. The boards creek somewhere in the attic. Lustmord enters the house. With deep moans, low drones, and bass rumbles, the walls begin to ooze evil, and if you stare long enough into the darkness, you'll start to see the path to hell. Like the unspoken dark power of a Ouija board, there is no telling what evil spirits will be called forth, when playing Lustmord's latest album, [ O T H E R ]. Brian Williams is a true pioneer of the dark ambient genre - as dark as they come. Usually referred to as the soundtrack to all your nightmares, Williams has worked on sound design for over 44 film scores, most notable of which include additional compositions for The Crow and Underworld. Lustmord's sound is not just digital effects of haunting echoes - he has actually made field recordings in slaughterhouses, caves and crypts. An interesting album to get your hands on would be a live performance at The Center for Inquiry, recorded on 6/6/6 for the Satanic High Mass celebration of 40th anniversary of The Church of Satan. That album is called Rising. On [ O T H E R ], Adam Jones (Tool) contributes slow solo guitars riffs, with additional appearances by King Buzzo (Melvins) and Aaron Turner (founder of Hydra Head Records and vocalist for the Isis). Speaking of Hydra Head... This is a great American label releasing everything from post-metal, like Pelican and Isis, to drone and doom metal, like Sunn O))) and other heavy metal styles from groups like Cave In, Boris and Jesu. And all joking aside - my dog ran out of the room and was afraid to get back into the studio, standing outside, looking in, until the [ O T H E R ] ended. If you've never heard Lustmord, this is a guaranteed unforgettable experience. For the same reasons that you watch horror films. This is music that truly makes you feel - never mind the fact that I can't wash off the goosebumps. Not recommended for sunny days and little girls. Impeccable production.

myspace.com/lustmord | lustmord.com
myspace.com/hydraheadindustries | hydrahead.com

Kangding Ray - Automne Fold (Raster-Noton)

An amazing array of releases from Raster-Noton can drain any serious collector's wallet. My latest search includes the twelve super rare twenty-minute monthly releases titled 20' to 2000, and I highly doubt that I'll be able to score it for anything less than a thousand bucks. Oh well... So instead I'll give myself a present of Kangding Ray's sophomore release, Automne Fold. And the album more than satisfies my experimental, organic, and dark rhythmic cravings. Kangding Ray is an alias of Berlin based David Letellier who creates synthetic, glitchy, and yet very musical compositions of analog tones, micro-programmed beats, and digital errors. Letellier's musical experience includes being a guitarist and a drummer for a band with rock and jazz influences. Stacking against his electronic music design is his diploma in architecture - perhaps Letellier erects and demolishes soundscapes in the same way. The sound of Kangding Ray is not as minimal as the usual roster of Raster-Noton (e.g. CoH, Ø, and the label owner, Carsten Nicolai). It is still experimental, super intelligent, yet at the same time very listenable - I found Alva Noto's Xerrox Vol. 1 conceptually very fascinating, but for some reason the album did not remain in my rotations. Kangding Ray, on the other hand, seems to fit more along his contemporaries, like Hecq, Subheim, Kattoo and Murcof. There are even lyrics in some of the "songs". Perhaps Automne Fold will create a gateway into the label's catalogue for listeners with a less sensitive ear. Be sure to pick up Kangding Ray's 2006 release on Raster-Noton, titled Stabil. Highly recommended. Makes my Best of 2008 list so far...

myspace.com/kangdingray | kangdingray.com
raster-noton.net

Hecq - Night Falls (Hymen)

As I turn my attention from ethereal to dark ambient, it is only appropriate that I cover the latest album from one of my all time favorite artists, Hecq. Last year, I already hailed Ben Lukas Boysen's double disk release, titled 0000, as one of the Best of 2007 albums. It perfectly aligned along my favorite elements of grandiose orchestral sound and punctuated IDM beats. Upon my first listen of Hecq's fifth album, I anxiously await the glitchy breaks that are so prominent in Hecq's previous albums. Alas they never come. And with this proclamation, Boysen creates a new sound in which he instantly excels. Appropriately titled, Night Falls, Boysen drops the rhythmic structure altogether, and produces one of the most inspiring, lush, atmospheric and hauntingly dark pieces I have heard to date. There is a continuous cinematic tension of something hiding right beneath the shadow of a thinly layered sonic veil. Night Falls is an album that stops you dead in your tracks to really listen. What is that brooding sound, and does it have a name? I will not hide the fact, that with each swell of dynamic wave, the emotion within me rises as well, and I fight back the tears at the tip of each crescendo. With outstanding production and masterful control of individual frequencies, Hecq propels his sound techniques from a mere post-industrial IDM producer to a contemporary neo-classical composer. Hymen should be proud. Reminiscent of Murcof, Lusine Icl, Kattoo, Nebulo and Subheim.

myspace.com/hecq | hecq.de
myspace.com/hymenrecords | hymen-records.com

Subheim - Approach (Tympanik Audio)

I first came across Tympanik Audio, a Chicago based label with the dark electronic roster, late in 2007, with their first double compilation release, Emerging Organisms. In the first months of 2008, I reviewed an intelligent rhythmic industrial album by Totakeke, ELekatota. But with this fourth catalog release, I can shamelessly proclaim that Tympanik has struck gold. With the release of Approach, Tympanik is quickly gaining momentum to the ranks of the beloved Hymen and Ad Noiseam. Subheim is the brainchild of Greek composer, Kostas K, whose complete biography is shadowed by the haunting sounds and occasional sighing voices of Katja. The organic elements of piano, cello, and ambient atmospheres are struck with slow building crispy beats and bitcrushed digital sounds. Approach is Subheims debut album. It perfectly encompasses all of my favorite elements: orchestral, cinematic, dark, crunchy, rhythmic, and extremely musical. "Moved by subjects such as urban isolation and the outburst of mankind's deepest emotions, Subheim delivers the ideal soundtrack for those moments of chaos or melancholy reflections." After half a dozen listens and consecutive ratings of five stars on my playlist, I give up and throw my hands in the air. I refuse to rate music with numbers, so hopefully these words will speak for themselves, as I attempt to contain my excitement for Subheim. Being filed right along my top favorite artists in the genre, Architect, Kattoo, Hecq, Lusine Icl, Arovane, Gridlock and Aaron Spectre. Highly recommended! Do not miss this next step in evolution of electronic music.

myspace.com/subheimmusic | subheim.com
myspace.com/tympanik | tympanikaudio.com

Nebulo - Kolia (Hymen)

I'm really trying to be unbiased when it comes to one of my favorite labels, Hymen, but there's just way too many great releases from this German offshoot of And-Zen, and I can barely keep up. While I'm refreshing my memory with Nebulo's 2006 debut, another artist that I blindly "collect" everything by, Hecq, has released his fifth album (more on that later, I don't want to digress). Nebulo is an alias of French composer Thomas Pujols. Pujols received a degree from Bordeaux Conservatoire, and began producing the dark and melodic crispy IDM after embracing noise from electro acoustic composition courses on experimental and avant-garde sound. He also works with several agencies as a sound designer, composer, and audio consultant for various media. Nebulo has previously contributed remixes to Hecq's 0000 and Architect's Lower Lip Interface. The tracks on Kolia are full blown compositions, each with a unique story transforming the listener into a world of surreal dreamscapes painted with tears and sometimes even with blood. The gentle harmony and calm melodies are offset by glitchy percussion and rhythmic labyrinths carefully deconstructed and molded back into one whole. I was last this excited about an outstanding production when I picked up Kattoo's Hang On To A Dream (coincidentally [?] on Hymen as well). Kolia is a perfect soundtrack for the imagery within a melancholic soul, locked in the prison of a troubled mind. The intelligence and complexity of the sonic onslaught immediately catapult Nebulo to the ear-candy's favorites. And I want more! Recommended for the above mentioned names as well as Lusine Icl, Gridlock, Keef Baker and Somatic Responses.

myspace.com/nebulo
myspace.com/hymenrecords | hymen-records.com