Various Artists - These Sounds Will Have to Meet Somewhere in Between Volume 1

Where have I been not to have heard some of the artists on this compilation!? Ever get the feeling you've been oblivious to a roaring torrent of sound and that you've now been doused thoroughly? The sheer force of will to assemble what this label has put together is commendable to say the least. There's something going on out there and thanks to the good people at Signifier, I'm now all the wiser to it. I do hope you can appreciate the exultant tone of what I'm jotting down because for the last week I've been trying to process what is on here and it is magnificently composed. There appear to be four or perhaps five movements to this symphony and I'll do what I can to illuminate them for you readers out there who are becoming impatient with this preamble.

The first segment encompasses some of my favorites: Tonikom, Millipede and Tzolk'in. Each of these individuals set the tone and framework for what is to come on this juggernaut: check your expectations at the door. I've been eagerly awaiting Tonikom's new album and the track she submits "Insence" only makes the wait harder. This is someone who I have been observing for years, every time she releases a new album it's a revelatory existential excursion. Please finish it up soon, I'm on pins and needles! Millipede put the meaning of their name to my speakers with a ravenously insectoid study of what sound like billions of tiny mandibles digging into the sand. It only gets better over time from this guy, Millipede become more and more developed and confidant with each new entry. Soon the wings will emerge and flight will take place into the realms of expression beyond comprehension. Flint Glass put in an appearance under the name of a side project I've been exposed to before and it is a malevolently reptilian one at that. Following these cuts, I was drawn into the darkness of LAN Formatique giddily. This is a band to watch and my eyes are wide open, the expressiveness of this song "All Fears Unfelt" becomes all too apparent. I feel as though I'm plummeting through the atmosphere Zero Degree's "Bury Me With Silence", incredible detail is revealed with each listen.

Secondly, the enigmatic OTX finally give us something new: a delightfully off-kilter exercise in beats and deviously contained tension entitled "Slam The Door". If you don't either of his albums, this is more than sufficient enticement to explore them. If there is to be a future for dark electronics, OTX will be in the vanguard. Insanely well composed, it's time for a new record, sir. Too many years have passed since 'A World in Red' was put out, Stefano and I can't recommend what he does enough. Lucidstatic bring the atmospheres, Embodi hit hard and vengefully show no remorse for doing so. Cruise [Ctrl] round out disc one and thankfully, do not live up to their name. This is hardly boring stuff, it stretches out it's hand and immerses you in shimmering waves of elemental abandon. You guys truly put a smile on my face and light the way to the next disc wonderously; that's the thing about this comp: no one tries to outshine the others, it is a collective whole of ravishingly honed audio art. Yes, I said it, this release is a work of art.

Oil 10 commence the third stage with precisely mechanized concentration, the limits of what the bandwidth can contain are always constantly pushed in bizarrely enchanting ways by this gentleman and thank the stars he does. The material he unleashes is sporadic but never dull and certainly it does not appear without a lot of thought behind it. Others of note within this phase are NXV, Lingouf & Di-Am and Syntech. This group deliver the goods, damnit, they bring things to the table that ought to show how much is still out there that isn't explored. I hear a lot of machinery being worked to the point of collapse, the smoke and rising heat pushing in all directions until at last...

We reach our next destination, the most shadowy part of this exhaustive excavation: it begins with one of my favorites, Disharmony. They collaborate with LPF 12 to bring us a dynamic abyss of burnt out cinders still faintly glowing in the penetrating cold: "Bruised and Broken". Disharmony are currently wrapping up a new album and if this is the sound they are now going to investigate, we are all in for a wild wild ride. Oppression of the soul is what's going on here and their cohorts on this track are to be commended for bending dimensional space to their will. I haven't heard much of LPF 12 but that is going to change. Some pairings work seamlessly, this being a prime example of one of those occasions. Endif show even more beauty in the night via their splendid "Dislocated", Dazzling Malicious up the ante in a most dissident manner in the form of "All Alone". This is the instrumental mix, should they choose to add words it would become truly decadent. Leave it as it is!

The final collection of artists is what brings the rating only to an 8. I'm not a fan of power electronics nor do I like rhythmic noise in the least. So bands like Greyhound, W.A.S.T.E., Worms of the Earth and Fractured Transmission do nothing for me. They have their place and certainly add contrast to the others on here but make me yawn.

I'm really impressed by what Signifier have crafted here for the most part and my oh my are there some new entities out there who have managed to tickle my grey matter. If you like it safe, if you just want hits and sappy, insipid melodies then this isn't for you. One hell of an opener. Sep 17 2011