DEAD FADERCorrupt My Examiner
3By3 CD
(3BY3 005)
- 'It's playful but sick. Like a puppy with extremely sharp teeth' (Justin K Broadrick AKA Jesu / Godflesh)
- 'Heavy like Cloaks but a little more groovin at the same time. Metalstep.' (Kid Kameleon)
Rollin', batterin', FUBAR-steppin', maxed-out, funky-ass bastards. That's who Dead Fader are. If the sound destroyin' processes of Cloaks aren't enough of that type o' violent (adopt Clay Davis tone) 'shiieeeett' for your sick head, 3BY3 come correct again, and drop this unrelenting abomination of a record. On first impression it's hardly a production sound you'd associate with the backdrop of Dead Fader's home base, Brighton. This sounds more like it was born out of some grim industrial slum on lockdown, all pent up anger and a serious need to party hard; 2-step garage from a Hair Police state.
Dead Fader's hybrid of distorto-death grooves, limited-to-hell wonky-not-wonky productions, sound like Distance playing though Slayer's back line…bit-crushed by inhuman hands, 2-step gets rammed face first through analog chains, that speakers (and ears) simply weren't designed to handle. Like Sunn O))) say, 'Maximum volume yields maximum results' - apply this to Dead Fader and you're likely to have your neighbours ASBOing your righteous ass all the way to the seaside. Pretty it ain't! But grooves??? 'Shiieeeett…'.
It's not all sour-faced noise ethics either. There's enough playfulness in the low-end and cheeky industro-funk mischief going on throughout 'Corrupt My Examiner' to keep it from becoming 'metal kids discover 2-Pac and create Franken-Durst', if you know what I mean. Oh yeah, check out the rewind on 'No Thief' (2:50) for a serious bit of DJ tackle! We can't wait to hear that one destroy the floor…yeah, we'll '…see you in the club…' you chump. An unrelenting sound, (over)loaded with hooks, 'Corrupt My Examiner' is an example of new forms emerging in heavy beat driven music. The identifiable stems of Dead Fader's influences are pretty evident whilst at the same time totally obliterated by their fresh approach. It's a balance of production, chops and attitude that define the style.
Dead Fader are that band you leave your kid alone with the CD for five minutes with, to discover the child has put the CD on, and for some reason decided to set fire to their bedroom. Dead Fader will likely make you break things you were previously quite protective of. Go home and burn that laughable bunch of Skinny Puppy you have on tape that your friend who still wears that SS style jacket he's had since you decided he wasn't really your friend but a bit of a dick who likes people to think he's kinda weird but in fact is an ACTUAL dick, copied for you - you should have killed that shit back in the day. And you know it. Too late for that now - it was NEVER good enough.
ANTONI MAIOVVIThe Thorns of Love
Caravan CD
(CVANCD003)
Antoni Maiovvi's "The Thorns Of Love" is a Liebes-Arie to a broken heart. An embrace of Italian drama and euphoric fear. His music exists somewhere between Patrick Cowley's Hi-NRG epics, Arthur Russell's melancholic beauty and John Carpenter's traumatizing soundtracks. Antoni Maiovvi is the name by which Anton Maiof unleashes his bastard offspring of disco and psychotronic horror and here with "The Thorns of Love" he has produced a deeply personal symphony to a lover lost and the sanctifying power of the dancefloor. Following the release of the highly acclaimed eponymously titled album from emptyset, Caravan Recordings steps into the ravine of heartache to shine a light on Bristol's underground disco hero Antoni Maiovvi.
Antoni Maiovvi is a nefarious creature of the night, a figure of twilight opulence and the love child of Evelyn Thomas and Lucio Fulci conceived in the lurid backrooms of the Boccaccio Club. The sweatbox is in his DNA, throbbing analogue circuitry courses through his flesh like rivers of blood and where his heart once lived there is now only yearning for the alchemical marriage of sex, death and technology. From Naples to Frankfurt he has stalked the dancefloors of Europe planning this moment and at last in this compendium of unbridled fist-clenchers his time has come. Now he will stop at nothing to bring his arpeggiated talisman down onto the souls of men, squeezing out that last breath of humanity in a pulsing Dantean dance-macabre.
"The Thorns of Love" (Antoni's 3rd album) takes a unique muscular and cerebral approach to electronic dance music bringing together the Italo love explosion, spine-tingling Euro-horror and the melancholic proto-techno musings of early Model 500 and ShareVari. Maiovvi takes the helm of this noir-tinged Trojan horse carving out a dancefloor machine with commanding synth-work, operatic drums and mind-bending atmospherics. As the album climaxes and the smoke pours across a crowded room he steps out from the shadows and delivers his final eulogy to 20th Century hedonism, preaching with the unhinged vocals of a coked up Bryan Ferry. Love may be the drug but for Maiovvi death can be the only future.
ALEX SMOKELux
Hum+Haw CD
(HAHCD 001)
Alex Smoke returns with the release of 'Lux', his eagerly anticipated third album on his own Hum+Haw imprint. It has been almost four years since the release of 'Paradolia' and in this time Alex has expanded his studio to incorporate more hardware to fully push the parameters of his sound.'Lux' is the result of his hard work and delves into more abstract and experimental territory whilst retaining the melancholic musicality and cohesion of its predecessors. The development of his own Hum+Haw label has been pivotal in giving him the freedom and opportunity to realise his creative vision and to solidify his reputation as a true electronic music innovator.
Since 'Paradolia' his approach to production has changed significantly and on 'Lux' he has devised his own techniques and programs for sound creation. Upon listening to 'Lux' this progression is evident and he has crafted a consuming and haunting album that weaves modern classical harmonies with angular technoid rhythms and intricate electronic abstractions. Alex continues to be active in classical production realm and recently composed the entirely orchestral piece 'Akesis' for the renowned Scottish Ensemble. He is currently working on a new project with them at the moment. The melancholic Smoke sound prevails throughout 'Lux' and deep techno variants nestle alongside evocative electronica. Alex formulates a dense and original atmospheric piece that invades your soul and melts your mind.
The tracks range from the introspective beauty of 'Nothing Changes', 'Physic' and 'Filla' to growling floor fillers such as 'Blingkered' and the mighty orchestral 'Paracelsus'. The defining title track 'Lux+' is a next level Alex Smoke production in which he twists and warps his own vocals beyond recognition. The result is an alien scrambled lullaby that has been drowned in a miscreated voodoo pit of symphonic gloom. With 'Lux', Alex Smoke has achieved his most accomplished and forward thinking work to date.
