Not content with the usual, run-of-the-mill post-industrial name tag, Ex_Tension compresses all angles of drone, industrial, atmospheric and noise to produce a classic sound that falls back on mid-90’s era EDM.
[Release page] Freedom is Signifier‘s most recent full-length produced by Ex_Tension and now available as a fully remastered package. Originally created in 2006 as hand-made CDr’s, this time around, with some wider distribution networks, a couple of extra tracks and remixes have been added to entice the ears. But it’s not as simple as that. The duo of Pierre Yves Hohmann of Vincent Gendrot vent their harsh electroid frustrations to extreme effect. Weaving extracts of sampling, crunched-out bass lines and a textured grittiness that prevails from start to end, this is some kind of freedom.
Not content with the usual, run-of-the-mill post-industrial name tag, Ex_Tension compresses all angles of drone, industrial, atmospheric and noise to produce a classic sound that falls back on mid-90’s era EDM. Derailed frequencies fall from a plume of smoke. Heavily drenched percussion, tortured bass and chaos meander through rhythm-centric grooves. And it all equates to the sharper side of technology-driven industrial. Sure we could toss in some influences, most of which may run parallel to pioneers of the genre (Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly immediately come to mind), but would that help the casual reader new to these cold extensions of electronic music? Probably not. Moments of beauty pierce through the ashes, as evident on “Extermesso,” however, it all crumbles to pieces on its sister track, “Intermesso.” Dance friendly artifacts such as “Tx7” and “Infinity” break the ice, literally, as they extrude their technoid formations. Elsewhere you’ll find remnants of abandoned warehouses, and an overcasting shadow of digital disturbances.
With over 10-years of experience, Ex_Tension easily deform harsh electronics into a mixture that is eerily contagious.
Freedom is out now on Signifier. [Release page]
