Merzbow, Sutcliffe Jügend and Satori - Split [Cold Spring Records - 2008]This three way split was original released as a give away for everyone who attended the recent Merzbow, Sutcliffe Jügend and Satori London show now it’s available to everyone else until the pressing of a 1000 runs out. And it’s a nice handy primmer to hear where all of the projects sounds were on the night with these exclusive tracks- with the Merzbow track been a monster size track near 15 minutes. First up we have the Merzbow track Feedyellow Mix.1 that starts off quite spacey with in it’s circling electro pulse tones, but soon enough a manic and tight rhythmic chopping sound takes centre stage and stays pretty constent through out the tracks life. To this main element he piles up around it a shifting noise canvas of all manner of interlink chopping, frying and boiling static tones, with quite harmonic and repetitive elements surfacing along the way. As those who have read my review show will know I’m not too taken by a return to more repatative, rhythmic and quite harmonic centred work, but I’ll have to admit this has started to grow on me and as it progresses there are some nice shifting of textures. It just still feels a little safe and dare I say commercial in its intent. Next up we Sutcliffe Jügend track Pig mother which follows on from his recent and superb Pig Daddy album with its attempts to stretch and bend power electronics into a more deranged carnival gone badly wrong vibe. With a Central noised up ‘n’ nasty rolling merry go round mix of electronics and guitar tones. Tompkins singing an almost a nightmarish and demented sea like shanty over the top, as lots of interest and dense textures sawing, perching your ears. Lastly we have the Satori track Paralysis (Hypnopompic mix) which open s up with descending dark march like rhythmic pattern, as we get deeper into the track a seething noise tone is added, along with layers of shifting and noisy dark ambience with a grim harmonic tendencies that keep surfacing. All it’s a nice dense, atmospheric and powerful track A nice near on half an hour audio snapshot of each these three artists work around the early half of 08. But I think it will be of most interest to Merzbow fans as his track is the longest here at near 15 minutes. Roger Batty
|