Am Not - The Developing World
It is hard not to notice that modern society is highly fragmented and scattered. We live in a world that is changing at a breathtaking pace; the economic crisis has been shaking the global economy for years, the world political map maintains a constant mutation process, the new technology is developing so quickly that it is even hard to imagine how our world will look in 10 years. In such a whirlpool of incredible events the developing countries are keenly affected; the gap between world leaders and lagging economies grows rapidly like never before. Even when the leaders try to take care about those in need - showing a kind of a social awareness - the developing countries still face a huge amount of challenges. Therefore, the acute problems remain until today: extreme hunger and food insecurity, premature death and lack of basic medicine, lack of access to the basic and essential resources such as clean water and sanitation, education and shelter. Even in 2019 those problems are vital for the lion's share of the modern society. Needless to say that a constant frustration of people that live in such conditions for decades cause an uprising of different destructive forces, violence, terror and fanaticism. And of course these themes are reflected in extreme art once again, and today it is Am Not's mastermind Tamon Miyakita turn to exploit them in his latest release with a conceptual name "The Developing World".
Considering that the scene of experimental industrial music has existed for more than three decades, Am Not is a relatively young project that came to public attention only seven years ago. But despite that, the UK based resident has managed to be well recommended by a considerable number of releases in various formats, both full records and different singles and collaborations with other power electronics and noise artists. Unfortunately, Am Not somehow remained unnoticed for me until it joined the family of the legendary Tesco Organisation label around 2017. Being on a roster of such a mega-team demands a certain level of material, and from a learning perspective the record is in full compliance with the status and the spirit of such a reliable company.
Again, turning to the challenging nature of the content of “The Developing World”, the theme requires the highest levels of tension and concentration. Melding of music and manifesto starts with the dirty analog scratches of “Continental Drift 1". It throws the listener into the heart of the storm as “Civilian Casualties” opens wide the gates of industrial hell with a piercing steady feedback, a pulsing synth, and a strong, surprisingly almost clear vocal session chanting slogans. “Martyr’s Little Helper I” continues to evoke a menacing atmosphere with a nasty sensory attack on the listener. Fear and terror are bound together with passages of a constant waving feedback, violent distorted vocals and a piercing, percussive beat. The sound envelopes me with its cacophonous grip when I approach the next track “The Hunt”; the obscure samples are mixed with the walls of chaos, and all this boiling substance is spilled right into my ears.
“The Developing World” doesn't give any relief even for a second leading its nasty sensory attack on all fronts; the tracks march with a delirious energy sweeping away all the barriers of consciousness. "White Crimes" is a creeping and penetrating track where fire and voice are put into a profoundly gentle yet no less physical relation. The aggressive and violent song “Market Penetration” left me drained with its challenging volume of weaving factory noises, both of them driving me to the edge of collapse.
After more than half an hour of a constant aesthetic orgasm, when I started to think that all the best things are already behind, suddenly I was hit by “Coming Home” with pinpoint precision and intensity. This pinnacle composition leaves no doubt as to Tamon Miyakita's ability to create one hell of a masterpiece. Marching, rhythmic percussion is mixed with a solemn speech and a wide-opened background melody forcing my body to shake to the sound of its confident gait.
Summing up forty-five minutes of this intense therapy called “The Delivering World”, the sound collage of Am Not in which ferociousness coupled with the depth of material and composition will leave no one indifferent. The record creates a bridge between an abstract based noise and more structured music with a truly gentle touch which will keep you gripped, right up until the final frame. If you managed to miss this gem somehow, this is the right time to bridge the gaps of your musical education and grab it from Tesco in a physical format before it is too late.
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