This is the type of thing that masquerades under the guise of being slick & artsy, and the naysayers just “don’t get it”. The only thing to ‘get’ here is that “Bektop” is the lazy result of throwing a whole bunch of rough, directionless sketches onto a CD and thinking that because it’s annoying and hard to listen to that it is inherently ‘artistic’ and ‘deep’.
Tag: 2010
Ametsub – The Nothings of the North
Ametsub creates very subdued soundscapes comprising of choppy bits of future jazz, complex melodies, fuzzy atmospheres, a plethora of pops & clicks, and IDM sentiments. It’s certainly unobtrusive and easy to listen to, but it’s also quite deep and complex should you take the time to delve further into it.
Assorted Performers – Drinking the Goat’s Blood + Electric Carpets
One compilation mainly focused on sound research and experimental music, with the second one offering more electronica-based (in the broadest sense of the term), danceable material. Truly a must have for anyone who is always searching for new music which veers away from the beaten track.
The PCP Principle – Rhythmus Ex Heretica
There are two main elements to this recording – crunchy noise beats and symphonic melodies – and no matter how you slice it, they simply don’t fit together that easily. Each aspect is done well on its on, but the jarring juxtaposition is too radical to be particularly likable. If you’ve always wanted to hear Final Fantasy sped up and set to fast-paced rhythmic noise, your opportunity has come at last.
Wolfskin / Last Industrial Estate – Stonegates of Silence
While these tracks are composed predominately of heavy, flowing drones and dense, crushing atmospheres, this is certainly not your run-of-the-mill one-drone-for-ten-minutes type of album.
Mathias Delplanque – Passeports
Mathias Delplanque, an artist synonymous with sound installations and immersive compositions, delves on “Passeports” into the phenomenon of the ‘non-place’ – ubiquitous urban spaces formed in relation to certain ends (transport, transit, commerce, leisure). Instead of the identifiable field recordings we expect, Delplanque presents a series of polished ambient/experimental compositions.
Canartic – Modulotion
This guitar-based and electronic-backed offering of totally dubbed out and lathered down psychedelic downtempo from Canartic is everything an album name like “Modulotion” promises. Though song structures come across as similar, each breathes its own mix of elements so that, taken individually, the differences might as well be profound.
Miss FD – Monsters in the Industry
When FrightDoll appeared on the scene in 2007, people took interest. Jump to 2009 and FrightDoll gets reinvented as Miss FD. “Monsters in the Industry” is the first album from this new persona.
David Wells – Rojo
“Rojo” plays to expectations, its primary aspects in line with other drone work – circular motifs, rich textures and infinitesimal evolutions. It is a model for a genre that finds itself refined to a point where there is little left to discover, but immeasurable time to savor what has been done.
Be My Delay – To the Other Side
From the eclectic (not to mention unexpected) instrument choices, including Tibetan bells run through a wah-wah, up to and including the incorporation of voice as more than merely a vehicle for lyrics – it all makes for a pretty impressive concept. Alas, concept isn’t everything.