Nocturnal Emissions :: Accumulator (We Can Elude Control)

Accumulator gives voice to an age of social division and economic deprivation, collapse of the factory town alongside the dissection of the countryside. These tracks map the final bravado of the Cold War and the internal horrors of Northern Ireland.

In the past few years harsher sounds have come to the fore. Industrial currents have entered House and Techno. We Can Elude Control is a label exploring these mechanical developments. For their latest, the UK imprint have traveled back some thirty years to introduce Nocturnal Emissions. The group, formed by Nigel Ayers, have a voracious musical appetite. This sound initiative adopted a raw edge alongside an interest in the new instrument machinery of the 80s. The result is an impressive back catalog of coarse experimentation. Techno foundations are the audio artifacts on display for Accumulator.

“Accumulator 2” comes from a somewhat melodic location. The drum programming is central but wisps of melody are allowed to unfurl. The track is first wave Techno in essence, masked in Industrial pulses and feedback. Cruel and uncompromising proto-Techno that comes from a place similar to Container, but circa 1982. “Accumulator 1” is simple, crude, and mechanical. Beats are the central sphere of expression. Snare is twisted into steel structures. Bass is used to absorb some of the reduced intensity. The track is pure and young, the first attempts with new electrical equipment which had just came to musical hands. Rhythmic patterns looping into distress and distortion. “So Darn Hot” is the respite—calmed claps and reverberating rasps for a gentle close to this frenetic EP. And for those of you gasping for more the 12” comes with a CD-R of a live gig from the group, a gig recorded some thirty years ago.

Accumulator is the mirror expression of dark underground floors and an angst filled audience. Nocturnal Emissions come from the art school crowd of the 80s, a crowd with a fire in their bellies and a new means of illustrating their discontent. Accumulator gives voice to an age of social division and economic deprivation, collapse of the factory town alongside the dissection of the countryside. These tracks map the final bravado of the Cold War and the internal horrors of Northern Ireland. Nocturnal Emissions scream in snare and rim-shot to vocalize the unspeakable. Guttural emotion through the penetrating percussion.

Accumulator is available on We Can Elude Control.