Afraid it’s to be another short one today, and probably for the foreseeable future.
Up top is a KEXP recording of Kiasmos, who were recommended by dhex and Chris, and quickly shot to the top of my list for when I need soothing. It’s limpid, beautiful, organic-sounding minimal techno from Iceland; if it wasn’t so well-done, it’d almost be cheesy, but there’s enough restraint here to avoid that.
But for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, and when I want to move like hell rather than sink into a warm bath, DUST’s Agony Planet is what I’ve reached for, this past week.
This is dark, dirty, malevolent techno, on the newish label 2MR – Two Mike Records, so named for its founders Mike Simonetti (formerly of Italians Do It Better) and Mike Sniper (founder of Captured Tracks). Techno, house, acid, EBM, and occasional industrial screams and disquieting words (courtesy of Korean vocalist Greem Jellyfish) come together in a satisfyingly-lacerating body-moving collision.
(Plus there’s some sort of alien abduction theme on the album, to go nicely with the X-Files revival).
But it’s not ALL punishing; there are also melancholy ambient and electro interludes (this track isn’t actually on the album, but gives an idea of range):
You can stream the whole DUST album here; both it and Kiasmos are highly-recommended. Just need to decide whether you feel like reaching for chamomile tea, or BDSM gear.
What are you all listening to?
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By coincidence, I’ve been listening to Agony Planet this week. It has moments that make me feel like I might be in a club in the late 90s.Report
I love it. I think it’s really well done and has a great flow, and it’s vaguely-reminiscent to me of a lot of things (at times, I’ve thought of The Knife’s Silent Shout, or Nitzer Ebb) without really being explicitly-derivative of any of them. A bad-vibes toe-tapper.Report
so i think dust is fairly derivative (particularly nitzer ebb or laetherstrip or any of the late 90s industrial/ebm stuff, as well as a significant touch of the regis/surgeon/silent servant mids aughties hard tech) – but inventively so, if that makes any sense? it’s well done, so much like kiasmos it breaks no new ground but instead cultivates a very nice garden.
eta: also she sings like the dude from burzum which is something i don’t know why more people haven’t done as far as chocolate/peanut butter combos go. sutekh hexen and not much else, and they’re not very tech-y at all in any sense. genghis tron, but not really.Report
Nitzer Ebb
Still listen to that.Report
I saw ’em once or twice back in the day…Report
Dangit 2016, cut it out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1FmDh95X8QReport
Here’s a sample from my latest purchase, which is absolutely nothing like what’s above.
https://youtu.be/HF2qQgPvrSEReport
Nice, I like it!Report
DUST blood-red vinyl arrived today!Report