With Rhemunvhurse Optikonn, a half-dozen tracks chopped and diced with enough blips and bleeps beauty to last us to the end of the decade, Truswell dives even further into the abyss for Detroit Underground.
Strangely serene industrial-glitch realms
Oberman Knocks (aka Nigel Truswell), one of the foremost sound sculptors in the realm of abstract slow-motion glitch landscapes, has a vast catalog released on Andrea Parker’s Aperture (a Touchin’ Bass sub-label.) With Rhemunvhurse Optikonn, a half-dozen tracks chopped and diced with enough blips and bleeps beauty to last us to the end of the decade, Truswell dives even further into the abyss for Detroit Underground. The EP opens with with the cramped cacophony of “Comtexkreer,” and as the burning beat develops, wandering vocals break into hundreds of bits. “Nerf Sans Meer” emits a downtempo treasure trove of sound design and a gorgeous rhythmic sputtering flow as “Hicklam Phormer Gains” erodes with its rusty beat patches and overarching soundtrack motif.
Oberman Knocks has a very strong ability to expand a wide spectrum of oddly translucent and mind-bending audio structures. For example, “Skabeleplex Rhea” and “Khronulocque” have darker strands and scorched drums that harken back to classic Einóma or Traject, where post-industrial mechanics mix with modular mayhem. It all just works as a whole, and for the finale, “Monnskort’s Aggrevated Manor” offers squelching and shape-shifting electronics from galaxies away. An entirely absorbing journey into strangely serene industrial-glitch realms.
Rhemunvhurse Optikonn is available on Detroit Underground. [Bandcamp]
