Inspired by the book The Collector by J.R. Fowls, and certain real life events that were happening at the time, this is an exploration into the depths of blackness that reside in the human psyche.
[Listen | Purchase] Intriguing is the word that sprung to mind when I came across this E.P. from the conglomerate who collectively go by the moniker of Fiction City. The description they give for their debut E.P. is different to most other promo blurb you are ever likely to see, that is certain. Nova is, in their own words “a complete story of turning a typical introvert, one of millions, into a horrible maniac that lures women into his house, where he tortures them and feeds his victims with their own flesh.” Inspired by the book The Collector by J.R. Fowls, and certain real life events that were happening at the time, this is an exploration into the depths of blackness that reside in the human psyche. Well, gosh! At this point you, like me are probably thinking “hmmm ok, this could go either way.” Concept albums (for that is what we are dealing with here) generally have a checkered reputation, with the unavoidable connotation of 70’s prog’ rock bands producing self gratifying double albums based on imagined worlds populated by fairies, kings, magical figures and other elements half borrowed from folklore and half made up entirely. Not that I have anything against prog’ rock (some of my closest friends are prog’ rockers), but in fairness, some of it did get a bit far-fetched.
Fiction City are a collection of four people who between them not only make music, but also art and video work, all of which is fully integrated into the creative process and output. This is the reason I referred to them as a conglomerate, they are not just a band but a, well, conglomerate of creative types. I quite like the idea of a collection of people working on different facets of a project, making it more then a single identifiable output. The artwork that accompanies this E.P. is really rather good for starters, as you would expect it is fairly dark in its subject matter, but that sort of thing seems to appeal to me in general.
So, to the music:
The first track, “Introspective Activity” sets the tone, a slow atmospheric intro constructed from the sort of big, swirling, slightly distorted sounds that immediately put me in mind of Young Gods (if you don’t remember them, that’s fine, it just means you are probably a bit younger then me you lucky devil – they were an eighties outfit that in my mind influenced a lot of electronic based music that followed, you should look them up!) or similar eighties electronic fare. Brooding sounds with tinkly out of time percussion followed by the introduction of a sparse, pointedly synthesised drum beat and guitar all deployed with the intent of creating a dark atmosphere are augmented by fragments of a woman talking in an alluring Russian accent (alluring for me anyway), alluding to a confused and tormented person who is struggling with some inner turmoil. The track continues in this fashion until about three quarters of the way through, when it kicks in with a more solid drum beat and synth line, but strangely, it all drifts out of time slightly. In this world of easily accessible top quality equipment designed specifically for music production, it seems hard to imagine that people are making electronic music in ways that bypass quantising and grid type interfaces, but that is certainly what it sounds like. I guess this is probably done on purpose? It gives an interesting feel to the music regardless, and almost makes the whole thing seem a bit vulnerable which in turn makes it seem intimate and personal. Having said that, there is nothing vulnerable about the actual drum sounds themselves.
The next track, “Neon Face,” continues the eighties vibe with some Nitzer Ebb sounding beats and synth bass, possibly a bit of very early Nine Inch Nails can be heard in this too, you get the idea; more strange spoken word fragments and very basic drum machine sounds are the mainstay. Despite how it probably sounds, there is something about it all that makes it an intriguing listening experience. If you listen to it on headphones as I did, you notice that there is a lot of effect and panning work going on which I couldn’t help but be impressed with, it drew me in and kept me interested (the hard panning on the hi-hats is slightly brain-destroying, however).
The E.P. carries on in this fashion for the next two tracks, big atmospheric soundscapes full of bass and brooding, with not so subtle (and sometimes drifting in and out of time slightly) synth lines and drum machine work along with quite subtle use of samples, guitars and voices coupled with some extremely haunting piano lines. Tracks 5 to 7 are remixes by DJ Frenklin, Archos and Saro respectively, and are in fact really very good indeed, employing much more modern sounding production techniques. The DJ Frenklin minimal mix of Neon Face is a slow deep house number with a hypnotic feel to it that is quite infectious. The Archos remix of “Introspective Activity” is outstanding, a complex glitch influenced IDM number that sounds somewhere between Squarepusher in his “Red Hot Car” period and Autechre in the “Gantz Graf” style. I can’t get enough of this track. The final track is a reworking of Neon Face by Saro, and is a dark and mysterious piece that stays with the eighties feel of the original, but with a touch more of a Nine Inch Nails vibe to it.
This E.P. has really grown on me, just look at how many words I feel compelled to write about it! It is a musical experience (in lieu of using the word journey) that is worth taking if you get the chance; not bound by the confines of musical vogue, Nova is certainly true to itself. It is clearly a highly personal output from Fiction City, and this is reflected in the out of this E.P.
Nova is out now and is self-released. [Listen | Purchase]
[audio:http://igloomag.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Fiction-City_Introspective-Activity.mp3|titles=Fiction City “Introspective Activity”]
