euthagnosis

Deconstructing Interference #11

Illustration by Emily McCafferty
Illustration by Emily McCafferty

This is Deconstructing Interference, the roundup, dealing with all the non-metal and experimental stuff that I find interesting. If you want to be considered for this column or have anything else to recommend, drop me an e-mail at [email protected]

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Ensemble Economique – In Silhouette

After a descent into some form of normality, Brian Pyle takes his project back into the abstract realms. A musician always interested in tearing down boundaries between genres, In Silhouettes sees this mentality implemented with a cinematic touch. An adept sound designer, Pyle mutates the progression of the tracks, creates sweeping sequences of drones and encapsulating his notion of psychedelia in this feverish dream.

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Paco Sala – The Silent Season

The Silent Season was produced under difficult circumstances: a serious knee injury suffered by one of the members lead to surgery, which in turn resulted in a period of heavy drug use and isolation. On this release the duo of Paco Sala offer their interpretation of pop music. Looking the genre from the outside, they infect its cliche ideas with an intoxicating exploration of off-kilter applications, projecting a futuristic scenery of trippy, manic, soulful and explosive renditions.

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Sciahri – Devotion Parts 1, 2, 3

Known from his participation in UNKNOT, Sciahriar Tavakoli also produces experimental techno under the Sciahri moniker. In this ambitious series of EP releases, Sciahri takes listeners down a rabbit hole with high acceleration, beginning from straightforward ideas, and descending into further unconventional ends. It is a disorienting trip through an exciting producer’s mind.

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Post Scriptum – Year Zero

An agent of the gritty, dirty side of industrial techno, Post Scriptum puts out his newest EP, Year Zero and establishes his own label at the same time. As the title suggests, it is a dystopian listen, revolving around heavy beats and dissonant synths coming with a razor sharp edge. On the flipside you get retellings of Year Zero from 9T9T, who gives the track the Detroit treatment.

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Blanck Mass – World Eater

I miss Fuck Buttons, and it is nearly four years since the release of the excellent Slow Focus. Thankfully Benjamin John Powers, half of Fuck Buttons, keeps us on our toes with his releases as Blanck Mass, the newest of which is World Eater. His personal projects retains aspects of the duo, balancing gracefully between the mainstream and the extreme, releasing tracks of electronic sensitivity and experimental brutality, where the repetitive progression prevails and the distortion is ample.

euthagnosis

Euthagnosis – Obsolete Ritual

There is a veil of mystery over the Euthagnosis project, but their blackened synth noise is worth your attention. The peculiarity of Obsolete Ritual is that it was produced using only an iPad, a format that at first glance appears limited, but considering the number of apps and effects available to the user, the “instrument” becomes a very potent tool, able to achieve sonic richness, through tribal grooves, disruptive fuzz and endless reverb tails.

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Zu – Jhator

From one record to the next Zu continually innovate, drastically changing their sound. Jhator takes this to another level, as the band leaves behind most of its extreme influences and walks into a completely ritualistic realm brought upon by abstract jazz progressions and spiritual practices.

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Anjou – Epithymia

Epithymia is a Greek word that translates to “desire,” the urge to realize one’s dreams and hopes. Ambient duo Anjou have wisely named their record after such a term, producing a mesmerizing scenery of drone bliss. Through this ethereal realm they travel from synthesized beats to jazzy themes, from melancholic soundscapes and mysterious leads to grand crescendos and hopeful melodies, always retaining a sense of wonder.

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Earthen Sea – An Act of Love

Written during a difficult time for Jacob Long, the man behind Earthen Sea, An Act of Love is an album of introspection in attempt to distance oneself from physical and psychic troubles. Through the opaque passages of the record Long establishes a city, in a film noir setting, and sets out to explore its various secrets. Even though it is a dim work, Long retains an air of familiarity and warmth, providing a shelter through troubling times.

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Saltland – A Common Truth

Rebecca Foon, known from her time with A Silver Mt. Zion and Set Fires to Flames, is one of the prominent members of the Canadian post-rock scene, and since 2013 she has set out on her own, with her project Saltland. A Common Truth marks the second full-album from the project, with Foon continuing to mould chamber music, dream pop and ambient leanings to the post-rock core, and with the fantastic Warren Ellis contributing, the music hits an emotional spot.

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Arca – Arca

Since the beginning Arca has been a unique voice in producing, exploring darker themes even when it came to his mainstream collaborations with Bjork, FKA Twigs and Kelela. In this new album, Arca takes a holistic approach, consolidating pop structures, hypnotizing sequences and melody with harsh IDM and noise. His new full-length completes a Bacon-esque triptych, not only by adding the last part to the series, but by forcing you to look at the whole range of the painting.

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The Bug Vs Earth – Concrete Desert

Both Dylan Carson of Earth and Kevin Martin (The Bug) have moved on from their heavier days, making their second collaboration a mould of abstract electronics and drone rock. Through their dystopian themes they do not illuminate a grand devastation taking place, but rather a world in decadence, too far gone to be salvaged.