CD-R+DVD-R/MP3+video, D-trash Records, 2009
http://www.myspace.com/stevehyperdriver
Hyperdriver, the one-man noise project of Steve Munslow, is best described in meme-riddled vernacular: a big plate of chicken-fried ‘WTF’, with side orders of ‘WTF…’ and possibly a helping of ‘LOLWUT?’ to follow…
Come to think of it, in spite of the angry, unapproachable name of the album, there is nothing here that doesn’t cause a minor fit of the giggles. More often than not, it’s a case of you going, “What the hell am I listening to?”, but it’s all entertainment in the purest sense, distracting you momentarily from the drab mediocrity of everyday existence.
And as for the sound Hyperdriver generates… Imagine, if you will, a rogue batch of Kuru (the agent that became the infamous mad-cow disease) mutating and infecting some unsuspecting audio equipment. The resulting chaos could easily be likened to the random aural lunacy that best describes Hyperdriver. Elements of disparate genres of dance music – techno, acid, trance, industrial, gabber and more – jostle and vie for supremacy in a battle to the sonic death. In his own words – “the BPM’s will give you a nosebleed if the harsh, volatile insanity of the music doesn’t do it first.”
So yes, it’s extreme. It’s hard as hell. It’s frenetic and difficult to listen to. But it is all in good fun, ripping apart conventions and expectations with every shuddering, aneurysm-inducing beat. An added bonus when getting physical discs (rather than D-Trash’s usual digital downloads) is the DVD selection of four videos; “Dig It With a Stick” coming up trumps in this case. Its jerky visual remixing of vintage big-band footage is sheer lunacy, with a dash of hallucinogens chucked in for good measure. I’d have to recommend this to anyone with a penchant for noisy techno, just for its ballsy madness and unpredictability.
[7/10]
— David vander Merwe