Igorrr - Nostril [Ad Noiseam - 2010]Breakcore and Drill ‘n’ bass have always been hit ‘n’ miss genres in my book...the projects have either worked and blown you away with their manic, intense yet clever use of sound manipulations and beats ‘n’ bass. Or they've copied the greats in the genre like Aphex Twin, squarepusher, or Otto Von Schirach... and come off as bland impersonators with no ideas of their own. Thankfully "Nostril" is a wonderfully over the top, exhilarating and very clever mixture of: break-core, Drill ‘n’ bass, baroque, classic and church music; along with elements like chugging black ‘n’ extreme metal riffing, operatic and choral vocals, rapid and clever world music traits, and all manner of quirky yet rewarding & memorable sonic matter. Take the first track “ double Monk” as idea of what to expect here. The track mixers and jerks through: aboriginal didgeridoo dwells, chugging ‘n’ grim metal riffing, Russian jig music, Indian tabular and chant, and snippets of refrigerator purr- all this in just under three minutes and makes it work in a crazed, yet memorable manner. Later on “unpleasant Sonta” mixers slow, elegant ‘n’ poignant piano wonderings with overblown theatrical metallic chug and head-bouncing drill ‘n’ bass clamour. Or what about the us indie guitar strum meets acoustic doom and Spanish guitar dwell of “Pavor Nocturnus” which also has operatic male vocals, and heady yet atmospheric bass ‘n’ beat runs. Really where ever you drop down on this albums fourteen tracks your in for a brain-frying, yet memorable and highly creative cross genre stew of sounds and elements, which shouldn’t work together- but somehow make perfect mad sense here. It’s always great to be surprised and puzzled by a record, and that’s exactly what “Nostril” does. So if you enjoy manic, creative and slightly unhinged beat bound sonics that genre mixers in a crazed yet brilliant manner this is definitely for you. Roger Batty
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