Electronic Substance Abuse and The DDN @ Nice ‘N’ Sleazy, 05/01/20

Image credit: Barry Douglas

Rhythmic industrial noise might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but once you come across Jamie Blacker and his solo project Electronic Substance Abuse, there’s no turning back. His last release ‘That Beast’ was rightly described as a beast of an album when it came out in 2018, and with his 2012 single ‘Themes of Carnal Empowerment’ recently featured on the soundtrack to the Netflix series The OA, it’s safe to say Jamie is at the top of his game right now. With his next album now due out on the 7^th of February, a special ESA gig in Glasgow last month gave us chance to get a sneak preview of his new material for a Sunday night like no other.

Arriving at Sleazy’s in time for local support from The DDN (AKA Timothy McQuester), my thoughts rapidly went from “This sounds heavy good” to “What the hell am I watching?”. Even with the main lights still on, it actually took a while to spot who was responsible for the tunes blaring out through the speakers purely because name was casually blending in with the rest of us, sipping away at his drink while eyeing up the empty stage ahead like he was also waiting for something to happen.

When I say zero fucks were given, I mean zero fucks were given. Throughout the rest of his stage time, name could be seen freely cutting about the place, even leaving the room altogether at one point before flailing around on the floor. As far as he was concerned, we might as well not have been there. Instead, all his attention became directed at an inflatable chair signed The DDN as it was punched, kicked and eventually sat on and deflated.

In a way, it was kind of like watching someone acting out on all their random urges while they’re bored and home alone. There was something weirdly liberating about it; like you shouldn’t be into it, yet somehow you are. As for the audio side of things, The DDN gifted us with a raging and surprisingly varied industrial techno set that left me wishing he had socials so I could hear some of his teeth-grinding electronics and improvised outbursts again.

ESA’s set meanwhile unleashed a different kind of fury altogether. I first saw Jamie perform as ESA back in 2017 and again with iVardensphere at Infest 2018, and if there’s one thing those previous shows taught me, it’s that his music 100% has to be experienced live for full impact. Once the lights went out to be replaced with lightning-like strobe effects, waiting for him to appear onstage felt like having an itch that needed to be scratched, and sure enough he wasted no time showing off his vicious streak with the snarling sounds of ‘That Beast’ going directly in for the kill.

Fuelled by cans of Red Bull and never once losing his focus, Jamie went on to confirm that ESA is as much a physical outlet as it is a creative one thanks to live drumming and non-stop bouncing, all while delivering a bludgeoning onslaught of noise and oppressive beats executed with expert control. ‘Carry The Noose’ in particular stood out as a highlight as usual, with J. Hysteria of Massenhysterie’s German lyrics rounding out his own hyper-aggressive, distorted vocals.

Ironically, the fact that Jamie also happened to be wearing an Exorcist t-shirt couldn’t have been more apt, each track violently casting out primal emotions such as rage, lust and fear as techno heads and goths alike spread out on the floor, claiming it as their territory. At the same time, being in near-total darkness meant that graphic images of wolves, black magic rituals, sex scenes and gore projected onto the screen behind him were made all the more intense due to our enhanced senses – ultimately, you couldn’t help but dance while zoning out into a trance-like state, and every second was pure, unadulterated release.

After dominating Sleazy’s basement with the fiercely chilling elements of ‘Like Meat’, things eventually came to a head as Jamie got into the crowd during ‘I Want It Now’ for an all-out surge of adrenaline. To help with the comedown, one last teaser for the upcoming album was just what was needed, and despite being a more slowed down track, ESA’s final offering proved to be just as raw and addictive as the rest.

As for the other new tracks that were included on the setlist? All I can say is that they were immense. It’s early days yet, but ESA is already leaving his mark on 2020 for sure.