It is with some regret that I am reviewing this album after
the sad passing of David Bowie today. I had been waiting for its
release to do a review and had planned to write it today after the
chance to fully absorb it. But today I found myself at my computer
penning an obituary first, the aftermath of which will inevitably
serve to clarify the cryptic lyrics of this album and add poignancy
to the album from now on.
After a decade away from music,
Bowie returned to us suddenly with 2013's 'The Next Day' – a
wonderfully nostalgic and avant garde tinged rock album that
instantly re-established Bowie as a musical force in yet another
decade. Fast forward two years and after a new 'best of' compilation,
a big box set of re-releases from his early years, and a new musical
based on the cult classic film 'The Man Who Fell To Earth', he looked
like a man with a new energy. The tip of this creative spear is
'Blackstar' – a bleak and dark blend of jazz, avant garde,
electronics and art rock that heavily evokes Bowie's lauded Berlin
period of the late 1970s.
The tracks are few in number (seven
in total), but are often lengthy compositions that twist and evolve
across their length. The title track 'Blackstar' is a grand and
opulent piece permeated by jarring rhythms, hauntingly atmospheric
synths and strings, as well as a low throbbing bass and cutting
saxophone that evokes the heady experimentalism of his Berlin years.
Songs like ''Tis A Pity She's A Whore', 'Sue (Or In A
Season Of Crime)', 'Girl Loves Me', and 'Dollar Days' delve into the
jazzy rock dissonance of 'Aladdin Sane' mixed with the left-field
construction of '1. Outside' as well as the soulful offerings of
'Heathen' and 'The Next Day'. But along with the title track it is
the second single 'Lazarus' and the heart wrenching closing track 'I
Can't Give Everything' that provide the album's undeniable stand out
moments that cut deep below the skin.
The album is
wonderfully produced with Tony Visconti's expertise evident all over
it as with many of Bowie's classic albums. The band this time is
primarily a jazz band led by New York saxophonist Donny
McCaslin which serves to heighten the left-field feel of the album.
It is a wonderful blend of experimental, emotional and accessible
that only Bowie can pull-off.
As we know now Bowie's health
was failing him during the making of this album. But his voice sounds
as beautiful as ever. Mature, soulful, deep and with that
unmistakeable vibrato he sounds like he is singing right into your
spirit. The lyrics may have been cryptic until today, but they are
raw and cutting now as their true meaning is revealed. And this only
adds to the power and resonance of his performance.
'Blackstar'
is a wonderful, powerful and well-calculated parting shot for an
artist who truly was an artist. This album links Bowie to his past
but it still feels new, daring and pushing the envelope of rock
music. It is an epitaph from the artist to his fans, but it is also a
brilliantly inspire album in its own right that even before Bowie's
untimely death would be hard to push from the top of a lot of
people's best of the year lists.
“As
you get older, the questions come down to about two or three. How
long? And what do I do with the time I've got left?” – David
Bowie
The news that David Bowie had died following and
18-month battle with cancer was just as out of the blue as his
shocking return from retirement in 2013. The singer, musician,
producer, actor, poet, painter, sculptor and all round polymath was
ingrained firmly into the popular culture of the later 20th
and early 21st centuries. His work transcended genres,
pushed boundaries, experimented and played with conventions whether
they be musical or cultural. No written tribute will ever truly be
able to encapsulate the influence this man had on generation upon
generation of artists and fans alike. Always at the forefront of
every trend, reinventing himself perpetually. He was the ultimate
chameleon, the ultimate mirror to mankind's post-modern evolution. He
was, will forever be David Bowie.
Born David Jones in Brixton
in January 1947, the boy that would become Bowie grew up in South
East London gradually developing an obsession with rock 'n' roll, art
and theatre. He played in bands throughout the 1960s as many other
teenagers did. He painted, modelled, studied mime. He later admitted
that he didn't quite know what he wanted to do, other than be known
for something. After a few false starts he finally had a hit song in
the form of 1969's 'Space Oddity'. The single seemed like it would be
a one hit wonder for Bowie despite being followed by albums that
would go on to be highly influential in their own right, as well as
penning hits for several other artists.
Ziggy didn't last long. He was soon followed by
characters such as Aladdin Sane, Halloween Jack and The Thin White
Duke. The characters enabled him to project his reality onto their
fiction:
“As an adolescent, I was painfully shy, withdrawn. I
didn’t really have the nerve to sing my songs on stage and nobody
else was doing them. I decided to do them in disguise so that I
didn’t have to actually go through the humiliation of going on
stage and being myself. I continued designing characters with their
own complete personalities and environments. I put them into
interviews with me! Rather than be me — which must be incredibly
boring to anyone — I’d take Ziggy in, or Aladdin Sane or The Thin
White Duke. It was a very strange thing to do.”
Bowie
also didn't stick to his comfort zone and keep churning out glam rock
as his peers would do. He embraced avant garde methods, kept an ear
open to new sounds and an open mind to new ideas. He would go on to
explore genres such as soul, art rock, krautrock, new wave,
industrial, drum 'n' bass, and jungle to name a few. This would keep
him in the public consciousness and ensure hit albums in every
subsequent decade, re-introducing him to the next generation.
In
addition to this he would keep on painting, and he would also find
time to indulge his skills as an actor in films such as 'The Man Who
Fell To Earth' (1976), 'The Hunger' (1983), 'Merry Christmas, Mr
Lawrence' (1983), 'Labyrinth' (1986), 'The Last Temptation Of Christ'
(1988), and 'Basquiat' (1996). He would also see him gain critical
acclaim as the title role of John Merrick in the Broadway production
of 'The Elephant Man'.
His work schedule and personal demons
led him to spiral into a cocaine addiction which saw Bowie thin and
skeletal in the mid-1970s prompting an escape to Berlin in an effort
to try and kick the habit. There he would collaborate with Brian Eno
and Iggy Pop once again redefining the direction of popular music at
the time.
On the morning of 11th January 2016, just
days after the release of his latest album 'Blackstar' the news that
David Bowie had died. His social media posted a short message
stating:
“January 10 2016 - David Bowie died peacefully
today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle
with cancer. While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that
you respect the family’s privacy during their time of grief.”
The world erupted into an outpouring of tributes that
eclipsed any other star before. Everyone from the fans, to
colleagues, peers and even governments paid their respects to him.
Bowie's influence was truly global and was internalised by millions.
He himself was always incredibly modest about his work
stating in an interview in GQ in 2002; “You know, what I do is not
terribly intellectual. I’m a pop singer for Christ’s sake.”.
But was always ready to make a joke about the absurdity of it all;
“Fame itself… doesn’t really afford you anything more than a
good seat in a restaurant.” - Q Magazine 1990.
Bowie has
left us with a rich legacy that has and will continue to stand the
test of time. He sold over 140 million albums and he has new
music in the form of 'Blackstar', and was still working until his
final hours. But just as sudden as his return had been it has been
just as quickly taken away.
As long-time friend and producer
Tony Visconti said in the press today: “He always did what he
wanted to do. And he wanted to do it his way and he wanted to do it
the best way. His death was no different from his life – a work of
Art. He made 'Blackstar' for us, his parting gift. I knew for a year
this was the way it would be. I wasn't, however, prepared for it. He
was an extraordinary man, full of love and life. He will always be
with us. For now, it is appropriate to cry.”
If you haven't seen it, it is a double
breasted, light teal suit with wide lapels and a few creases that
looks unmistakable of its era. The kind of suit you'd see in a retro
clothes shop and think that it would make a good costume. On its own
it's just an ordinary suit like those next to it. But just by that
association with Bowie, it became more. It was a fashion statement, a
work of art, a relic of a bygone era. It evoked the piano strains of
'Life On Mars' and the over saturated colouring of it's music video.
It evoked screaming fans in the Hammersmith Odeon as Ziggy retired.
It was a grand and spectacular as the Glass Spider tour, and as
intimate as the video for 'The Buddha Of Suburbia'. It was Bowie,
encapsulated and crystallised in a fragment of his past. It was, more
than any other item in there, a true relic of a genius.
David
Bowie is survived by his wife Iman, his son Duncan, and his daughter
Alexandria.
“Death is an
inevitability, isn’t it? You become more aware of that when you get
to my age. I don’t worry about it. I’m ready for it. When I go, I
want to go doing what I do best. If I died tomorrow, I couldn’t
complain. It’s been good.” – Lemmy Kilmister
This obituary may be running a little late but it isn't written with any less love because of it. Infact it has been due to the outpouring of love from Lemmy's friends and fans that this feature has been delayed until after the enigmatic musician's webcast funeral.
Only once every so
often does a man such as Lemmy Kilmister come along. The founder and
leader of arguably the loudest band on the planet Motörhead
lead an uncompromising lifestyle. He was the hard drinking, hard
living poster boy for the rock 'n' roll lifestyle. A lifestyle that
claimed many of his friends and colleagues long ago. But the man born
Ian Fraser Kilmister outlived so many of them it looked as though he
was truly indestructible. With his trademark bass style, unusual microphone positioning and gruff recognisable voice Lemmy was unique, in fact Hunter S. Thompson's line in 'Fear And
Loathing In Las Vegas' could have been a perfect summing up of Lemmy's life –
“Too weird to live, too rare to die”.
But on December
28th 2015, just days after his 70th birthday, the man that
allegedly drank a bottle of Jack Daniels a day and had a long-term
affair with amphetamines and yet still lived to beyond retirement age
sadly died following a short battle with an extremely aggressive form
of cancer.
Lemmy was born in Stoke-On-Trent on Christmas Eve
1945. His father a former RAF chaplain separated from his mother just
months after his birth. The family moved around a little before his
mother married an ex-footballer and they relocated to Wales. Lemmy
did not get on with his new stepfather's children and would soon grow
to find an interest in Rock 'n' roll and girls. In his teens he began
playing in local bands and working menial jobs. He then met a girl
called Cathy and followed her to Stockport where they had a son.
Lemmy continued to play in small local bands before joining
The Rockin' Vicars and gaining a record deal with CBS. He would go on
to roadie for the Jimi Hendrix Experience and play with the band's
Sam Gopal, and later Opal Butterfly which were all short-lived. In
1971 though, Lemmy joined space rockers Hawkwind and switched from
guitar to bass. He developed a distinctive style of playing informed
by his previous experience as a rhythm guitarist which enhanced the
Hawkwind sound. His high point with the band saw him take lead vocals
on the band's smash hit single 'Silver Machine', but soon after he was
fired from the band.
In the aftermath of his release Lemmy founded a new more
raucous outfit he initially called Bastard, but after being informed
he's never get on Top Of The Pops with a band called Bastard he
rechristened them Motörhead
and brought in guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke and drummer
Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor. And the rest, as they say is
history.
Motörhead
pioneered a frantic and aggressive style of rock 'n' roll which
became a major influence on both the emerging punk and heavy metal
movements. Though Lemmy said he always had more affinity with the
punk scene, indeed sharing the stage with the likes of The Damned and
allegedly trying to teach Sex Pistols “Bassist” Sid Vicious how
to play. But the band's loud uncompromising style drew them into the
pantheon of the heavy metal greats.
The band's biggest
mainstream success came with the release of the single and album 'Ace
Of Spades', as well as the live recording 'No Sleep Til'
Hammersmith'. Motörhead
would go on to release a total of 22 studio albums the last of which,
'Bad Magic' was released in august 2015 to strongly favourable reviews
from critics and fans alike.
Lemmy and by proxy Motörhead's
appeal was in the reality they projected. Lemmy was straight-talking,
down to earth and raw. The man onstage was the same as the man
offstage. He never worried about being trendy, just being true to
himself.
Lemmy was diagnosed with cancer only days before his
death and only shortly after completeing the band's last tour. He had
previously been diagnosed with diabetes and hypertension, and in 2013
he had an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator fitted. His cancer
diagnosis had given him two – six months to live, but Lemmy died on
28th December 2015 at home. His manager, Todd Singerman, later
revealed: “He (Lemmy) gets home (from tour), we have a big birthday
party for him at the Whisky A Go Go. His friends came down and
played. Two days later I could tell he wasn't feeling good so we took
him to the hospital, they release him, then after the brain scan they
found the cancer in his brain and his neck... The doctor comes with
the result a couple of days later and says... it's terminal.”
The
news of Lemmy's passing was announced on the band's facebook page
with a statement that read:
“There is no easy way to say
this…our mighty, noble friend Lemmy passed away today after a short
battle with an extremely aggressive cancer. He had learnt of the
disease on December 26th, and was at home, sitting in front of his
favorite video game from The Rainbow which had recently made its way
down the street, with his family.
We cannot begin to express our shock and sadness,
there aren’t words.
We will say more in the coming days, but for now,
please…play Motörhead loud, play Hawkwind loud, play Lemmy’s
music LOUD.
Have a drink or few.
Share stories.
Celebrate the LIFE this lovely, wonderful man
celebrated so vibrantly himself.
HE WOULD WANT EXACTLY THAT.
Ian ‘Lemmy’ Kilmister
1945 -2015
Born to lose, lived to win.”
Tributes came pouring in from
peers such as Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper, Metallica, Anthrax and
even WWE Professional Wrestler Paul Michael Lavesque whose character
'Triple H' regularly uses Motörhead
songs as his entrance themes.
On Saturday 9th January,
Lemmy's funeral was broadcast live from Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery
over the internet and saw stars such as Slash, Scott Ian, Lars
Ulrich, Robert Trujillo in attendance while Foo Fighters founder and
Probot bandmate Dave Grohl closed the service with a moving eulogy
which was unfortunately not broadcast in its entirety due to the feed
cutting out. In the UK after Lemmy's death was announced a facebook
campaign gained momentum to try and get Motörhead's
'Ace Of Spades' single to the first number one spot of 2016. The
campaign was partly successful with the song entering the top 20 at
number thirteen which is higher than it's best position (fifteen)
during it's initial release.
Lemmy made an indelible mark on
rock and metal. He was an icon of the genre that helped defined it
and through it he lived his life to the fullest. As he said in a
Classic Rock Magazine interview: “I don't do regrets. Regrets are
pointless. It's too late for regrets. You've already done it, haven't
you? You've lived your life. No point wishing you could change it.”
If the two stunning
albums, 'Stigma' and 'Evasive', released last year by Neurotech (AKA,
Ljubljana based multi-instrumentalist Wulf) weren’t enough for you,
the Slovenian genre-defying composer and producer returns with a
final parting shot to 2015 in the form of 'The Ophidian Symphony'.
The free single returns to the more metal influenced sphere
of 'Stigma' but retains the expansive blend of ambient and classical
influences that made 'Evasive' a joyous listening experience. Add in
the ebm and industrial influenced electronics and you have a solid
representation of the Neurotech sound.
At eighteen-minutes in
length the song goes through several movements truly living up to the
symphony part of it's title. The song is entirely instrumental, which
on one hand is a shames as Wulf's vocals are great and he could pull
off something quite interesting over the top of this music. However,
on the other hand it is an impressive testament to the composition
that it manages to hold your attention so strongly that it is about
several minutes before you realise that no vocals have come in.
In
terms of production it sounds brilliant. Wulf's studio prowess is
reflected well once again as he manages to balance fast metal guitars
and drums, groovy synths, and ambient elements in a way that
preserves the accessible end of the band's song while keeping it's
cinematic scope intact.
This may be an instrumental single
but it is nonetheless a big statement. If Wulf can keep up the
momentum he has built with stunning releases such as this and the
last two albums then 2016 could be the year of Neurotech.
A 35 year career is
hard to sum up for any artist, let alone one as prolific as Attrition
mastermind Martin Bowes. He has been the dark cornerstone of the UK
gothic industrial music scene for all of that time, garnering
international acclaim not only for his own output but also for his
extensive production work out of his own The Cage Studios in
Coventry. As such any kind of attempt to create a “best of”
compilation is only ever going to scratch the surface of a diverse
and expansive discography. But with 'In Dark Dreams...' Bowes does
just that. A perfect introduction encapsulated on a two-disc set,
(which could have easily been a box set) to present Attrition's
legacy in a bite-size fashion.
For this compilation Bowes
looks back across a range of albums including '3 Arms & A Dead
Cert', 'In The Realm Of The Hungry Ghosts', 'Dante's Kitchen',
'Attrition Of Reason', and 'The Unraveller Of Angels', as well as his
most recent outing 'Millions Of The Mouthless Dead'.
The
compilation follows no chronological framework, but instead lets each
track compliment the one that came before it to create a unified
expression. This sees older material and newer works rub shoulders
comfortably and shows of the truly esoteric nature of Bowes'
compositions.
Grooving electronics, dark ambient, grim
industrial and gothic atmospheres from the darkest corners of Bowes'
discography create a rich sonic journey with songs such as
'Dreamsleep', 'One Horse Rider', 'Beast Of Burden', 'Invocation V',
'Lip Sync', 'The Bone Factory', and 'Silent Night'. As well as rarer
gems which give a well-rounded look into Attrition as a whole.
As
you would expect from Bowes, 'In Dark Dreams...' is well produced and
nicely put together with every track remastered and updated to fit
perfectly with one another. The older recordings sound fresh and just
as relevant as the more recent ones.
Attrition may have an
intimidating discography for those new to them. But with 'In Dark
Dreams 1980 – 2015' some of Bowes' finest cuts provide a taster of
many of his most memorable albums. This release in itself is a very
strong offering, keeping that album unity that Bowes has always
fostered on his main releases, and as such for fans old and new this
is an essential release.
Happy new year,
readers! Now that the long dirgey coda of 2015 is finally over (I
thought it would never leave...) and the winter solstice sees the
beginning of lighter, longer, warmer, less penury-inclined days ahead
we can finally look forward to what 2016 holds in store. And one
thing it does hold in store is lots of lots of Horror (and, probably,
horror too – but that's a different matter).
March this year sees
the UK release of 'The Witch', another not-particularly-successful
attempt to bring the much contrived tropes of witchcraft to the big
screen. The key ingredients of dark, primitive forests, puritanical
superstitious townsfolk and pagan evil are present and correct. Such
stuff is surely trope-on-a-rope these days. Only recently Vin Diesel
heroically flopped in the abysmal 'The Last Witch Hunter' which was
the latest exploration of the corresponding witchcraft-related trope
– that of the ruthless witchhunter, witchfinder or similar emissary
of righteous justice. Movies and other cultural portrayals of these
confrontations are plentiful. But what, exactly, is this stuff all
about?
In order to edit the
lengthy exposition which starts this discussion it is first necessary
to get out of the way what witches really were – namely, the
predominantly female cultural leaders of village ceremony and healing
that was prevalent in pagan societies before attempts were made by
Christian authorities to violently suppress them. The notion of
witches as hideous crones linked to Satan and evil was a cultural
creation used to justify what amounted to a widespread genocide of
female power and alternative spirituality, and it has since become
embedded in popular culture.
So, moving swiftly on
from that...what is the witch/witch-hunter dynamic really about?
Well, we must first look at what the witch represents in these
stories. The witch is almost always portrayed as female, despite it
being a unisex position (much in the same way that a nurse is
portrayed); she also has a link to the 'wild', often found living in
the forest, controlling the elements or literally riding the wind –
a literal 'force of nature'. Her skills are arcane, occult and
pre-Christian, and her power is portrayed as primitive and
fundamentally sexual: much talk of 'spells' and 'enchantment', either
literally cast or metaphorically cast as sexual attraction. In short,
all sorts of casual misogyny abounds with various allusions to
'original sin', Lilith, women's innate corruptibility and ability to
corrupt, and so on.
The witch hunter
predictably plays a more blunt role in this paradigm. Universally
portrayed as a man ('Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters'
doesn't count), the witch hunter is charged with a dour moralism, a
pious sense of certainty and incorruptible integrity. A man of god,
brave enough to be so over-the-top ruthless and determined that he is
impervious to any charms (physical, spiritual or otherwise) that the
witch may use against him. He is also uniquely violent, allowed as he
is to accuse and torture without any objective proof of guilt and
armed with the judgement of God he is particularly cruel.
The contrast here is
very straightforward: one between a heathen, anarchic, pagan
femininity and a phallocentric, masculine, centralising authority.
The interrogations that the witchfinder undertakes are a sadistic
attempt to break the spiritual, sexual and political independence of
the woman - and furthermore this is something he appears to take
great pleasure in doing. It is a Freudian power dynamic come to life
as much as it is a glib demonstration of a gender essentialism
viewpoint.
But why does it have to
be so? Why can't the witch hunter and the witch come to a better way
of settling their disputes? Does the basis of such tales always have
to remain this way? It is tempting to ask how the dynamic would
change if the witch hunter was female, or how the tale would play out
if the witch hunter was more fallible and the witch less so – maybe
they would fall in love and form a more equal partnership, one based
on recognised uniqueness and mutually respected difference?
Of course, don't expect
much of that at the Cineplex; but still, it's worth considering the
next time you consume this particular piece of cultural candy.
It's 2016. It only seems like yesterday that I
was stressing over the final bugs before launching this website on
New Year's Day 2013. That was three years ago, and it has been a
steady climb upwards ever since. For a niche subject matter such as
dark culture, our readership continues to grow. Artists, fans, and
industry people seem to value our opinions on the latest releases.
Our features, and columns are widely viewed. And we've brought you
some great interviews from some of the best names in the scene.
Not
bad really.
Of course this can't be done without the help of
you the readers. Therefore as you will have no doubt already seen, we
have released another free download compilation in the form of 'Blood
Pack Vol. 3'. Featuring 21 bands and 99 minutes of free gothic,
industrial, electronic and metal tracks from artists such as
Monomorte, Machine Rox, Human Traffic, ѦPѺLLYѺN'S ▼ISѦGE, and
Ca†hedra plus many more exclusive and unreleased tracks.
Please
head over to our bandcamp page and get your free download as soon as
possible, then send the link to a friend. Play the tracks loud and
proud and support the artists who kindly offered their hard work up
to us.
On bandcamp we get 200 free downloads per month and we nearly
hit our limit less than 24 hours after the compilations release
prompting me to buy more free download credits, so please make the
best of them.
And if you haven't already got them, there is
also 'Blood Pack Vol. 1' and 'Blood Pack Vol. 2' still available to
download for free!
That's a total of 56 free songs + three
PDF booklets with information on each artist!
I know we're
good to you.
But please enjoy all that free music with our
thanks, and please keep tuned to IVM over the next month as we bring
you more reviews, interviews and of course our staff picks of the
best releases of 2015.
That's all to come this month on
Intravenous Magazine.
And finally, make sure you have these
links in your favourites:
The annual music
festival Wave Gotik Treffen is a major event on the gothic calendar
every year. The German city of Leipzig welcomes black clad arrivals
from all over the world to take over. This year the festival will
fall on 13th May 2016 and will run until 16th May 2016. It may seem a
long way to go yet, but the festival organisers have already unveiled
the first 45 acts set to play this year's event.
Announced so
far: Amnistia (D) - Artwork (D) 30th anniversary
show - Bifröst (A) - Biomekkanik (S) - Blitzmaschine
(D) - Chainreactor (D) - Christ Vs. Warhol (USA)
- Christine Plays Viola (I) - Cinema Strange (USA)
worldwide exclusive show in 2016 - Coppelius (D) - Crematory
(D) 25th anniversary show - Culture Kultür (E) - Darkhaus
(D/USA) - Darkher (GB) - Das Ich (D) - Destin Fragile
(S) - Diary Of Dreams (D) - Gernotshagen (D) -Girls Under
Glass (D) 30th anniversary show with special guests - Gothminister
(N) - Grausame Töchter (D) - Hante. (F) - Har Belex
(E) - In The Nursery (GB) 35th anniversary show - Kauan
(RUS) - Kuroshio (FIN) - Kyoll (D) - Leather Strip
(DK) - Legend (IS) - Machinista (S) - Mesh (GB) - Näo
(F) - Neuroticfish (D) - Peter Yates (GB) - Reaper (D)
- Siechtum (D) - Signal Aout 42 (B) - Suicide Commando
(B) - The Deadfly Ensemble (USA) - The Underground Youth
(GB) - Tragic Black (USA) - Triarii (D) - Unzucht (D)
- Winterkälte (D) - XTR Human (D)
The big day is finally! Our
third birthday as a webzine and our third free download compilation
is now available from our bandcamp page.
It's been a lot of
work and I just hope you all enjoy it, discover a new band, and then
go and buy all their albums.
The compilation features 21
tracks and clocks in at a whopping 99 minutes long, so there is
plenty to get your teeth into.
The album features names such
as Monomorte, Machine Rox, Human Traffic, ѦPѺLLYѺN'S ▼ISѦGE,
and Ca†hedra plus many more exclusive and unreleased tracks from
international gothic, industrial and electronic bands. It also comes
with an A4 PDF booklet containing bios and links for all the bands
who have kindly donated a track.
As this is a free promotional item, feel
free to share this among your friends and family. However, please
refrain from uploading this on to torrent or other free download
sites. This is a free compilation available through our bandcamp page
and will remain so. If you would like to share this album please use
a link to our bandcamp page.
Track List:
1.
Monomorte – 'Devour The Day'
2. Machine
Rox – 'One'
3.
Atomzero – 'Therapy'
4.
Machinista – 'Dark Heart of Me (Hindustrial Edition by Independent
State)'
5. Cold
Therapy – 'Angesicht De Angst'
6. Human
Traffic – 'My Body Is A Mechanism (Zovi Remix)'
7. Double
Eyelid – 'She's Falling (DJ Cruel Britannia Mix)'
Porl King's In Death It Ends project has
become a prolific beast. Tapping into witch house, proto-industrial,
new wave, post-punk, and early goth he has released albums, EPs and
free downloads at a rate that would make most other artists struggle
to sustain for a year, let alone over the course of three consecutive
ones. Best of all, the former Rosetta Stone and Miserylab founder
shows no signs of letting up any time soon, nor is his particular
brand of progressive, dark and mainly instrumental style of music.
The latest release from IDIE is another free self-released
download in the form of 'VVDV'. Harking back to the more experimental
releases in the projects already substantial back catalogue, such as
'Forgotten Knowledge', 'Analog Witch', 'Restorative Art', 'Analog
Witch Trials', and 'Shrines'. The nine-track download sees a more
minimalistic and experimental blend of darkwave and subtle industrial
taking the centre stage.
Kicking off with the simple rhythms
and bass line that accompanies so many IDIE releases the first track
explores strained ambient strings and pads to weave a slightly
discordant but utterly beguiling web of sound. The second track lets
the bass take the lead for a more gothic rock flavour that builds
with the introduction of the synth elements for a nice and cold
groove. The third track has a more frantic rhythm and a tenser synth
line that ups the tempo slightly and injects a little more energy
into the track list. The fourth track keeps the tension that it's
predecessor built and brings the bass groove back to the fore for a
more minimal and atmospheric approach. Track number five then goes
into a more twisted and psychedelic path with its melting bass and
steady rhythm slightly permeated by hanging synths every so often.
Track number six is the most up-tempo bass groove yet and
with it's blend of simple synth leads and steady dance pace it is by
far the album's most approachable and dance-friendly cut. Track seven
follows on nicely with it's Soft Moon style groove and rhythmic
interplay before introducing more experimental synth elements to the
mix as the song progresses. The penultimate track on the album strips
things back to the core with a very simple bass, rhythm and subtle
use of electronics to create a delicate mix. The final track on the
album by and large covers the same ground as the previous few songs,
however like the other tracks it is entirely unique and its steadily
droning synths, simple lead and light distorted beats add an extra
dynamic to the song which makes for a fitting closer.
As with
all previous IDIE releases the production creates the illusion of
low-fi without actually being so. The minimal nature of the songs
allows King to craft a great sense of space in the mix, while the
retro sounds hark back to he experimental beginnings of genres. Yet
the quality of the recording is as high as you could want in a modern
release and it continues to show off Kings skills as a producer.
This is another great and very individual release that will
appeal to fans of IDIE's more minimalistic sounding releases, but
still keeps that appeal that makes it approachable for those just
dipping their toes in the water. It goes to show King can still keep
things fresh and interesting despite the heavy release schedule.
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