A fine jumping off point for anyone interested in exploring the more accessible side of atmospheric industrial techno.
[Release page] The third release on the newly minted Bed of Nails imprint is a new four track EP from Christian Cosmos, the meeting of minds of label-owner Dominick Fernow and Hospital Productions cohort Chris Lapke, and though this essentially means that the new label is thus far wholly represented by releases from these two gentlemen alone, it has established a very firm foundation on which to build its repertoire. To date the collaboration has yielded a number of cassette/digital releases and one LP on Hospital Productions, and though the Christian Cosmos sound has generally erred on the noisier, more baroque side of Fernow and Lapke’s output, like Vatican Shadow’s September Cell before it, The Sharp Lines That Delineate His Robes takes a cleaner, more traditional shot at the industrial techno genre, with more accessible results.
The EP gently eases you into the darker Christian Cosmos sound, opening up with the potent atmospherics of “The Angular Positions Of His Father.” The chug of a misfiring motorcycle and a machine-grinding drone underpins exquisitely selected orchestral string samples, the distant rattling of keys in a cloister gate, the reverberating clunk of wood on stone and latterly, the heavenly call of soprano voices, all ricocheting around the vaulted arches and ceilings of a musty old chapel. “The Angular Positions Of His Ghost” takes things a little deeper, the echo and reverb ratcheted up a notch, looped and scorched strings creating a giddy whirl of noise around more familiar Fernow-esque drum patterns rendered in a hollow but substantial thunk.
On the flip-side, “The Angular Positions Of His Crown” embraces more overtly industrial tropes, with layers of synth pads and charged effects swimming over dry drum patterns until a dust-covered snare-drum crash seemingly crafted from rhythmically struck oriental cymbals diverts the track down bustling side-streets teeming with sensory-overload inducing claustrophobia and chaotic motion. “The Angular Positions Of His Cross” concludes the EP with an Eastern vibe (compared perhaps rightly with Muslimgauze), crushed, grinding black-metal guitars and slow-mo percussion, all compacted into an ever tightening, asphyxiating loop.
The Sharp Lines That Delineate His Robes is surprisingly melodic and engaging stuff, particularly compared to the hostile, alienating sounds of previous Christian Cosmos output. Worth the price of entry for “The Angular Positions Of His Father” alone, it is a fine jumping off point for anyone interested in exploring the more accessible side of atmospheric industrial techno, and another must have for fans of Fernow’s work.
The Sharp Lines That Delineate His Robes is available on Bed of Nails. [Release page]
