HR149 - Various Artists - Spain - C35 — 1989
SIDE A:
MERZ: Texas Chainsaw Massacre Tecnica Material: Adsorcion Alquimia Detras Religiones SIDE B: Das Synthetische Mischgewebe: The Eternal Professional Error at Auto-Reverse |
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REVIEW by Jerry Kranitz
The Harsh Reality ‘Country’ series continues with Spain.
The three artists on Side A are somewhat similar, and all are on Luis Mesa’s IEP/Extrema Pasion label. MERZ play an interesting brand of multi-layered minimal electronica, combining a quirky keyboard pattern, zooming and pulsating buzzing effects, and off-kilter beats. Tecnica Material incorporate almost the exact same buzzing as MERZ, but alongside a collage of what might be tape efx’d field recordings that produce a chug-a-lug locomotive groove. Alquimia Detras create a collage of grinding, windswept effects, ghostly voices, scratchy electronic grooves, and other effects to make for another intriguing mix.
Side B consists of a single 14+ minute track by Das Synthetische Mischgewebe. This is experimental music/audio art that blends atmosphere, aggression, and tension. It sounds like a combination of stringed instruments, electronics, and effects. Scratched and variously manipulated strings explore and terrorize, while some effects grumble while others provide enough atmosphere to relieve the tension. Later in the track I hear rumbled drumming and cymbal play. Busy but interesting throughout.
The Harsh Reality ‘Country’ series continues with Spain.
The three artists on Side A are somewhat similar, and all are on Luis Mesa’s IEP/Extrema Pasion label. MERZ play an interesting brand of multi-layered minimal electronica, combining a quirky keyboard pattern, zooming and pulsating buzzing effects, and off-kilter beats. Tecnica Material incorporate almost the exact same buzzing as MERZ, but alongside a collage of what might be tape efx’d field recordings that produce a chug-a-lug locomotive groove. Alquimia Detras create a collage of grinding, windswept effects, ghostly voices, scratchy electronic grooves, and other effects to make for another intriguing mix.
Side B consists of a single 14+ minute track by Das Synthetische Mischgewebe. This is experimental music/audio art that blends atmosphere, aggression, and tension. It sounds like a combination of stringed instruments, electronics, and effects. Scratched and variously manipulated strings explore and terrorize, while some effects grumble while others provide enough atmosphere to relieve the tension. Later in the track I hear rumbled drumming and cymbal play. Busy but interesting throughout.