Michael Castaneda, late of Tempe, Arizona, drops a frenetic yet disciplined album entitled Self Exorcism on Hymen Records. Shortly after its release, an EP on Phthalo Records consisting of two extra tracks and remixes from the likes of Jason Forrest and Xanopticon surfaces on Soundcloud.
Michael Castaneda (aka Terminal 11), late of Tempe, Arizona, drops a frenetic yet disciplined album entitled Self Exorcism on Hymen Records. Shortly after its release, an EP on Phthalo Records consisting of two extra tracks and remixes from the likes of Jason Forrest and Xanopticon surfaces on Soundcloud. The pressers appear in my Inbox from different sources, disparate yet somehow connected. The remix grabs me first with its title and over-the-top cover art capturing the concept perfectly: Skyscraper on a Megayacht. Who could argue?
Let’s start here — two nigh-ten-minute originals, “Hoover Assault on Precinct 11” and “Heather in Japan”, followed by five remixes of the flip from (respectively) DuranDuranDuran, Exillon, Xanopticon, Jason Forrest, and OVe-NaXx (capitalization [sic]). The originals bring fast breakcore/IDM jams reminiscent of Drukqs-era Aphex Twin, with a notable rave-up 2/3 of the way through “Precinct 11” and a six-minute herky-jerky build to “Heather”. Wisely, the remixes spread across a broad spectrum of edgy electronics, with each interpreter putting his/her own stamp on the original while retaining its identifiable sonic elements.
DuranDuranDuran turns in a filthy groove that seems like it could move a packed dancefloor to hypoxia; Exillon opts for a sparse, acid-tinged flair; Xanopticon, true to form, pulls the beats backwards through a blender built in Max/MSP; Jason Forrest micro-dices the track and reassembles it into a Super Nintendo soundtrack for the bath-salts crowd; and finally, OVe-NaXx, whose typography I’m not convinced is worth the triple-checking it requires, forces poor “Heather”‘s bassline to a breakcore Amen that was notably absent in the original.
Of the full-length I confess I am quite enamored. Previously, I had sort of felt that breakcore as an artistic moment had topped out in 2005 with Venetian Snares’ Rossz csillag alatt született. But Self Exorcism, unexpectedly, has sent me looking for interstitial releases that mark the path of progress between there and here. The fast and furious drums are still front and center, as are the warped Acid House lines that Richard Devine exploited to great effect on Cautella; fronting, for instance, “Start Over,” or the warbling fury at the heart of “Anxiety Acid.”
But there’s something more that really elevates this release: perhaps a greater restraint or perhaps just better software. Castaneda clearly knows how to exercise both. The glitchy, atmospheric opener “Runs from the Rain” establishes a high-tech noir mood that gets extended and amplified over the rest of the album’s runtime. But despite track titles like “Covered in Demon Blood” and “Fury,” I never found myself flinging off the headphones, begging for relief from a sonic assault—that restraint again. Even “Gruesome Things,” whose slap-bass and titular vocal sample threaten to overwhelm the mix, instead just ends up a total head-bobbing jam. The stripped-down house that opens “Phoenix” gets worked up, deconstructed and finally reunified; “Tension” and “Spanning Time” make solid contributions to the end of the album by developing this theme of hyper-precise mini/maximalism as far as Castaneda could take it.
It’s a big, mad breakcore world out there. If Terminal 11’s Self Exorcism is indeed emblematic of the state of the scene—and I have to think it is, given the prominence of the collaborators and remixers around this release—we fans are in for a fun (albeit squelchy and jittery) ride.
Self Exorcism is available on Hymen. [Release page]
Skyscraper on a Megayacht is available on Phthalo. [Release page]
