Swarm Intelligence - Faction [Ad Noiseam - 2014]Swarm Intelligence are a Berlin based project who conjure up a dark, dense & nasty brew of ultra low bass bound electronicia, slurred industrial texturing, grimy & hard hitting beats, brooding synth scaping & menacing electro noise undertones. After five eps, and one full length, Faction is the projects second full length release. It takes ten in tracks in all, with a total running time of just under the hour. And it’s fair to say this is some of the most nasty, grimly down-tempo, bone vibrating, and heavy electronic music I’ve heard in some while. The pace moves from slurred & very hard hitting, onto mid pace & nasty, with slips into few more murky & dense ambient moments. This is beat bound electrionic music at it most hopeless, grim & menacing- there is zero hope or light anywhere on this album. As one dense & murky track unfolds after another with ultra-low & teeth pound bass lines move against noisily grained beats, brooding synth lines, and more layered noise textured. So if you after really nasty, blackly dense, and led heavy eletrionic music, then Faction is certainty worth a look- sure in places it does sound a little too samey & one dimensional for it’s own good, but there are more than enough rewarding moments here to make it worth picking up. Roger Batty
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