PRESUMABLY NAMED AFTER THE MC5'S FREE ROCK EPIC, BLACK TO COMM IS A COMPUTER MUSIC ARTIST FROM HAMBURG. ON THEIR DEBUT RELEASE, "BLACK TO COMM", THE SOUNDS CONSIST OF CASCADING SHORT BURSTS OF ELECTRONIC GIBBERISH, WOVEN INTO SHEETS OF SHIMMER THAT FALL THROUGH SPACE GLISTENING, THEN WIGGLE ON THE FLOOR WITH ALL THE GRACE AND BEAUTY OF TWITCHING MORAY EELS. IT APPEARS THERE ARE SOME GUITAR SAMPLES JAMMED INTO THE MIX AT POINTS, BUT IT'S A BIT LESS LIKE THE MC5 THAN SOME MIGHT HOPE. STILL, IF YOU CAN IMAGINE A VERSION OF THAT GROUP EVOLVING INSIDE DIGITAL TRADITIONS, MAYBE THERE'S A SYNAPTIC CONNECTION AFTER ALL.
BYRON COLEY / THE WIRE

THIS IS DEBUT RELEASE FROM A 'NEW COMPUTER MUSIC ARTIST FROM HAMBURG, GERMANY'. I HAVE NO CLUE WHO IS BEHIND THIS, BUT I AM SURE IT'S SOMEONE WHO LOVES TO PUT ON SOME DRONE MUSIC, IN COMBINATION WITH SOME FINER POINTS OF COMPUTER PROCESSING. THE RESULT MAY COUNT TO SOME AS DRONE MUSIC, BUT IT'S DRONE MUSIC OF A MORE VIOLENT NATURE. THE BOWED SOUNDS THAT OPEN THE B-SIDE OF THIS RECORD, EXPLODE WITHIN SECONDS INTO A MIGHTY VIOLENT DRONE, WITH MACHINE GUN SHOTS FIRED THROUGH PLUG INS. REFERENCES IN THE COMPUTER TREATED GUITAR MUSIC ARE OBVIOUS (THINK EARLY FENNESZ OR PIMMON), BUT THE WHOLE VIOLENCE THAT IS GENERATED IS MORE LINKED TO NOISE MUSIC ALA MERZBOW, EVEN WHEN THERE ARE MORE QUIET SPOTS TO BE NOTED HERE THAN ON AN AVERAGE MERZBOW CD. QUITE A NICE LITTLE RECORD, WHICH IS ALBEIT TOO SHORT TO HAVE A GOOD PICTURE OF WHAT THIS GUY CAN DO. LOOKING FORWARD THEREFORE TO THE MORE EXTENDED PROGRAMM.
FRANS DE WAARD / VITAL WEEKLY

THE INFO SAYS SOMETHING I DON’T UNDERSTAND: PHOTOSHOP-COMPOSITION. PLEASE, EXPLAIN THAT TO ME. I WANT TO KNOW, HOW THAT WORKS. BUT DON’T EVER EXPLAIN THIS RECORD TO ME. I DON’T WANT TO KNOW HOW IT WORKS. IT IS MORE THAN SUFFICIENT TO SEE AND EXPERIENCE IT WORK. THESE SOMETIMES HARSH, SOMETIMES TRAGIC MULTI-LAYERED DRONES OF BLACK TO COMM LIVE BY THEIR OBSCURITY AND ENIGMA. LOTS OF FREQUENCY MANIPULATION, DIGITAL AND ANALOGUE, SAMPLING AND COMPUTER-EFFECTS MAKE UP AN INTERESTING AND ADDICTIVE MIX OF PLAIN NOISE AND COLOURFUL WALLS OF SOUNDS IN EFFECTIVE DRONES. EXPECT TO BE DRAWN IN, CHEWED AND SPIT OUT, BUT LEAVE A BETTER PERSON THAN YOU WERE.

ONCE AGAIN DEKORDER STRAYS FAR AWAY FROM THE DANCEFLOOR AND RELEASES MUSIC FROM THE FRINGES OF ELECTRONIC MUSIC, EVEN THOUGH VISUALLY – MINIMAL DESIGN WITH UNI-COLORED SLEEVE AND NO PRINTING, CLEAR-VINYL AND LIMITED EDITION OF 250 – THIS TEN INCH MIGHT EASILY BE MISTAKEN FOR A DANCE-RECORD IN THE BIN. I’D LIKE TO SEE THE FACE OF THE ASPIRING DJ, WHEN HE PUTS THIS RECORD ON THE TURNTABLE IN THE STORE TO DO HIS CUSTOMARY TEN-SECOND-A-PLATE-LISTENING (USUALLY USING HIS FULL HANDS AND FINGERS TO HANDLE THE RECORDS, WHICH MAKES AN OLD VINYL-LOVER LIKE ME CRINGE WITH DISGUST AND PAIN. OBVIOUSLY, THESE DJ-WANNABES, THOUGH THEY ALL DEMAND VINYL-RECORDS, EITHER NO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT VINYL – FOR INSTANCE THAT TOUCHING THE SURFACE WITH YOUR FINGERS LEAVES MARKS OF SWEAT AND FAT WHICH MAKE DUST AND DIRT STICK TO THE SURFACE AND THEREBY RUIN THE RECORD – OR THEY JUST DON’T GIVE A DAMN ANYWAY.) ANYWAY, OUR YOUNG, SUPERCOOL DJ-DUDE PUTS ON BLACK TO COMM, EXPECTING SOME COOL BEATS AND A GROOVY BASSLINE, AND, OF COURSE, HE PUTS THE NEEDLE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FIRST SIDE, AND “BOOM” – HE IS CONFRONTED WITH A MULTILAYERED, QUIRKY AND WEIRDLY SOUNDING DRONE THAT ACTUALLY STARTS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SIDE, GROWS AND GROWS AND ADDS MORE AND MORE LAYERS AND THE SLOWLY BUT DEFINITELY STOPS TOWARDS THE END OF THE SIDE. OUR ASPIRING SUPER-DJ WON’T BELIEVE IT, SO HE WILL FLIP THE NEEDLE FURTHER AND FURTHER INTO THE RECORD ONLY TO DISCOVER BIGGER AND BIGGER WALLS OF INDESCRIBABLE SOUNDS.

UNBELIEVINGLY SHAKING HIS HEAD, HE MIGHT EVEN TURN THE RECORD OVER AND START HIS ACCUSTOMED PROCEDURE OF LISTENING INTO RECORDS, THE WELL-KNOWN TEN-SECOND-A-RECORD MARATHON BY ONLY LISTENING TO SMALL PORTIONS OF EACH RECORD AT THE BEGINNING, THE MIDDLE AND THE TWO THIRDS-MARK OF EACH SIDE. THIS WAY HE IS NOT AT ALL PREPARED, FOR WHAT IS TO COME NEXT, BECAUSE SIDE A OF THIS RELEASE TURNS INTO A BEAUTIFUL HARSH-NOISE-PIECE AT THE END. SIDE B STARTS OFF LIKE A MELVINS-BASS-DRONE-RECORD AND THEN MOVES SLOWLY BUT STEADILY INTO THE HARSH-NOISE-TERRITORY OF THE END OF SIDE A BY LAYING INTERFERENCES AND BASS-DRONES OVER EACH OTHER OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND THEN SUDDENLY INTRODUCING INTERFERENCE-SOUNDS AND WHITE-NOISE-FREQUENCY-MANIPULATION. ACTUALLY, THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL MIXTURE OF AUBE AND BUDDHIST MANTRAS, BUT I DON’T THINK OUR DJ WILL SEE THE REFERENCES. MY GUESS IS, HE WILL PUT THE HEADSETS AWAY AFTER INGESTING BLACK TO COMM, TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND SEARCH FOR THE LATEST EP BY BASEMENT JAXX OR BY ANY OTHER WELL-KNOWN DANCE-PROJECT.

THAT’S A PITY, BECAUSE THAT WAY HE MISSES THE THIRD TRACK, THAT CLOSES OF THIS WONDERFUL EP. ANOTHER NAMELESS TRACK, THAT COMBINES MORE FREQUENCY-MANIPULATION, BUT THIS TIME MORE SUBTLE, WITH DISTORTED NOISES THAT SOUND VERY MUCH LIKE A MONSTER-ROBOT BREATHING AND A MONOTONOUS BELL-SOUND. THE DRAGON’S NIGHTMARES IN THE CELLAR OF A BUDDHIST TEMPLE? LET YOUR CONNOTATIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS RUN WILD, WITH BLACK TO COMM, BECAUSE THERE IS NOT A SINGLE HINT AS TO HOW YOU SHOULD TAKE THIS MUSIC. WHAT KIND OF LIBERTY AND FREEDOM THE ARTIST EMPLOYS YOU WITH, AIN’T THAT GRAND? YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO PUT YOUR FINGER ON THE SPOT AND SAY WHAT THIS REALLY IS. DEFINITELY A HARD RIDE THROUGH SOME SURPRISING SOUNDS, MINGLING WITH YOUR OWN TRAUMAS AND EXPERIENCES AND SETTING YOU ON FIRE WITH NOISE, AT OTHER TIMES LULLING YOU INTO THE BELLY OF THE BEAST TO BE DEVOURED GLADLY. OR SOME SUCH.
CRACKED

AUF DER NAMENLOSEN 10“ GIBT LABELMACHER MARC SEINEN EIGENEN MUSIKALISCHEN EINSTAND UND LIEFERT DAMIT GLEICH EINEN FESTSCHMAUS FÜR FREUNDE COMPUTERGENERIERTER MUSIK AB, WELCHER ZWISCHEN PULSIERENDEN DATENPAKETEN, TIEFERGELEGTEN HARDROCKSAMPLES VERSUS BOHRENDEN LÄRMSCHLEIFEN (SUNN O))) ALS LAPTOP VARIANTE?) UND KRATZ’N KNISTER ELECTRONICA PENDELT. AUCH OHNE PATHOSANFÄLLE BEFINDET SICH DAS „BLACK“ IM TITEL NICHT OHNE GRUND.
SACHA BERTONCIN / TRIGGERFISH

UND DIE DRITTE 10" DIESES RECHT OBSKUREN LABELS AUS, JA WOHER EIGENTLICH, AH, WEBSEITE IST SCHÖN, HAMBURG VON ALLEN ORTEN. METAPHORISCH BETRACHTET WÜRDE ICH MAL BEHAUPTEN DIESE PLATTE KLINGT WIE DER SOUND EINER DIGITALISIERTEN KLOSCHÜSSEL VON UNTEN. JEDENFALLS AUF DER A-SEITE DIE SICH LANG LANG ZEIT LÄSST, BEVOR SICH MIT IN UNERWARTETE (MAN DACHTE ES PASSIERT EIGENTLICH NICHTS MEHR) HARMONIEWECHSEL, TJA, WECHSELT UM MIT BRACHIALEREN DRONES ABZUSCHLIESSEN. AUF DER RÜCKSEITE DÜRFTEN ALLE DIE SOLCHE MUSIK NICHT KENNEN VERMUTEN, DASS DAS BRUTTOSOZIALPRODUKT ÜBER NACHT IN DIE HÖHE GESCHNELLT IST, WEIL DIE ARBEITER SICH IN DER WOHNUNG NEBEN AN SO INS ZEUG LEGEN, ICH VERMUTE ABER DIESER KLANG DER EISERNE SPÄHNE WEHEN LÄSST DRONT AUS EINER ANDEREN RICHTUNG. DER LETZTE TRACK KLINGT SO ALS HÄTTE MAN EINEN BIENENSTOCK IN DIE WANDUHR GESPERRT UND WÜRDE DIE NUN ALS INHALATOR BENUTZEN. VIELSEITIG DAS.
BLEED / DE:BUG