It’s been a while since I’ve written about Acoustic Division. The US label comes from the South West, an unlikely location for electronics. Acoustic Division keeps the electronic oasis verdant with two recent releases.
Jeanne Vomit-Terror and Ed Sunspot introduce The Seat of Same. This twosome come from Resonant Hole, a “a mutant collective cultivating dream-reality damaged audio-visual spew blurring the lines between what is.” The 12” opens with the title track. A slow beat pushes forward an eerie and unsettling organ melody. It’s hard to affix a genre to the sound. Post punk meeting Synth Wave and Electro Disco or some such, you get the drift. Vocals finally arrive, lamenting with angst. In this strange brew of styles it’s hard to forge comparisons but to compartmentalize, Indie Wave Horrowshow is where I’m going to pin my collar. The press release may sum it up, “abominable act of transgressing the horizon into the infant sky-desert.” Carl Calm’s “Gulf Night” mix follows. The tempo is further reduced with some of the more peculiar moments being eclipsed for a slow piece of late night mirrorball lounge Mike Simonetti is on hand for the final take on the original. The man from Italians Do It Better expands on the Electro Disco undercurrents, echoing vocals and upping the beats. The lyrics are further drawled to produce a catchy and clever interpretation of the opening collage.
Just before the New Year Three Legged Race (aka Robert Beatty) served Wrong Element, a three tracker of warped out Electronics. Beatty has been weaving his brand of analogue abstraction for over a decade on labels like Spectral Spools. “Dr Wrong Element” is a bubbling cacophony of ricocheted pings and factory floor bass. The sound of Three Legged Race is somewhere between the Techno and Industrial Ambience. The Kentucky based artist continues his descent into the shadows with “Solid Liquid or Daughter” before “Jet Animal” closes. The closer simmers with rhythmic currents, Beatty pulling the listener deeper into the recesses of demented daydreams and twilight terrors.
For three years Acoustic Division has been pioneering its own style of sound. There isn’t a set style, but there does appear to be a mantra: “Every other thing goes.” This isn’t to say that the Kentuckians are firing out any old releases, quite the opposite. This is a label exploring the more unexplored and psychedelic elements of the synthesizer. Be prepared to enter the Videodrome.
Both releases are available on Acoustic Division.
