In rotation for the past few weeks, this multi-view reveals the latest sonic landscape from five talented musicians. Plenty of brittle, glitch, abstract, noisy, mechanical and bass-infused sounds with releases by Fizzarum, LODSB, Mikroben Krieg, Room Of Wires, and Xzicd.
Fizzarum :: Frisson (Ant-Zen)
It’s hard to believe, but Dmitry Dubov and Albert Rasyulis’s Fizzarum project is 18-years of age, Phut Of Plex / Ursa Majoris was my introduction to the duo (released on a 7″ vinyl series with City Centre Offices, 1999)—it represented the opening of IDM’s flood-gates, brittle and emotional melodies peppered with crackling beatwork. Fast-forward to 2017 and Ant-Zen signs Fizzarum for 10-tracks on Frisson. “Avellar” is an instant classic, its charm, wobbly rhythm, and punchy percussion are catchy and reveal a Boards Of Canada tinge along the way. A delicate album drifting between ambient, nostalgia, and pristine electronics, “Peace Around” captures Frisson‘s softer side. “Verez,” perhaps the finest of the lot, encapsulates the definitive Ant-Zen dynamic—tribal infusion, gritty bass, and a synthesized shadow prevails. On the other hand, “Pavasaris” is a lullaby that wisps by in 3-minutes which proves to be a precious musical artifact on its own. Perhaps the brightest sonic fragment to escape Ant-Zen’s vault, Frisson is emotive, charismatic, and effervescent all around.
LODSB :: Helicon 2 (Detroit Underground)
LODSB (aka Niklas Klügel), follows-up Helicon 1 (Retort, 2014), with Detroit Underground. A myriad of dislocated electrical bits are tossed in the air, once again, this time landing in rhythmical formation. Not entirely dance-floor centered, except “Malefizische Maschinenelenktik,” Helicon 2, is mind-numbing experimentalism at its best. Disjointed sonic slabs are dissected and assimilated to no end, its Autechrean landscape is asymmetric beauty. Take “Vexiertes Gestaltpathogen” and its digitized ebb and flow, strained glitch, and fractal beatwork as LODSB’s mission is to tangle and confuse blissfully. Elsewhere, alien sounds mingle with Subotnick precision, piano elements, and a sense of order (ie. “Kognitiver Quecksilbersee der Meinigkeit.”) On “Indifferentes transkraniales Yogakalkül,” a classic Brothomstates / Phoenecia sound escapes time—head-funk at its finest, goosebumps at full speed, this is LODSB at his best. In summary, Helicon 2 is a ravished manifest that sways back and forth between extreme glitch extracts and atmospheric brilliance.
Mikroben Krieg :: Intrascape EP (The Crime League)
Mikroben Krieg (aka the multi-talented Nelson Brites) recently signs to Toronto’s The Crime League, a welcomed addition to the burgeoning digital imprint which continues to cultivate the finest in darker-brewed electronic music. Here we see tangled bass, breaks, and industrial meshed together on six expansive tracks. Opener “Torn Lips Never Whisper Boldness” is a highlight, its heavy beats, rolling bassline, and emotive, churning undercurrent is a sonic sculpture in its own right. Elsewhere, a soundtrack to lost worlds opens on “Mind Metric,” a brain-bending, synaptic swirl of organized mechanical noise. In all, Intrascape is elusive in its aural construct. Finding a balance between harsher electronic elements and relaxed segues (ie. “Tonic Design” with Rapaz Improvisado), this is a brooding, yet carefully groomed extended player that embarks on a surreal and rugged course.
Room Of Wires :: Black Medicine EP (Section 27)
Room Of Wires have never actually met—from the UK, their love for electronic music and its breaking points are evident (again) on their latest Black Medicine EP for Section 27. Less glitch, more bass, beats and distortion, this extended player is 5-cuts of a darker breed. The title track administers broken, tumultuous downtempo clangs, weaving sinister noises and voices in the darkness. “Temple Run,” a sort of Middle Eastern chant, is surrounded by rumbling shrapnel and emotive backdrops. Room Of Wires’ highlight takes shape on “Protected Space.” A distorted synth line squeaks its way through, blips and bleeps are entombed by a blackened force, it’s the soundtrack to a dystopian world taken over by energetic and unusual beings. A true behemoth of eradicated electronics.
Xzicd :: ʘCH⅄HↃʘ EP (Kaer’Uiks)
Xzicd (aka Francisco Godinho) reveals ʘCH⅄HↃʘ, a six-pack EP of turbulent glitch and ravaged sound-design. Dynamic electrical range, excessive digital-signal-processing, and noise are rolled into a (somewhat) cohesive entity. Take “Ghalka Neij” as a prime example—an explosive electric mess that is somehow collected and torn apart just as quickly as you can get your head around it. “TertyxX_Ilkmar,.LovaV” opens with a downtempo crunch and vocodered voice grooves that is instantly accessible and disturbing—like a lost Aphex Twin relic. The same track is administered with a calmer Yaporigami remix, stretched into its elemental bits and bytes with a distilled, organic veil, there are moments of utter clarity in this remix. A wall of sound that is chaotic and transformative. “Ghalka Neij (Grischa Lichtenberger 0217_19 rmx 1b 1 3b)” brings to mind early Lexaunculpt wrapped around what Valance Drakes has delivered for the past few years—laid back glitch extraction that slithers through an electro chemical stream. JFrank takes the evacuated mental bliss of “Beta Chazn” and applies a rhythmic slant, head-bobbing beat and bass minimalism at its best—JFrank re-envisions the original, pulls back on the throttle, and paints a euphoric aural canvass worth repeated plays.
