A Well Hung Monk
Clear Skies & Dark Skies
God?
Das Gegenteil
Sacrilege.
The man dares to speak sacrilege. Yes I do. So please look away now...
for there are some of you out there reading this who will be deeply fucking
offended. Massimo & Pierce were dancers / performers who worked with
Coil on stage. I never like Coil. Gasp! Couldn't get into their music.
Shock! Coil failed to register with me on every level. Horror! Heretic!
Burn the unbeliever! Fucking grow up is my response to those cries. Not
every group is going to appeal to 100% of music lovers. I just happen
to find the music of Coil dull and dreary. They seemed genuinely nice
people though from the interviews I read. Not that that last sentence
will appease the acolytes reading this. What was it Doris Day sang again?
Oh yeah "Que sera fucking sera"... although she missed out the
fucking bit. The reviewer's padding this out a bit isn't he you're probably
thinking. By jingo you are right. Because "Im Gegenteil" is
only 4 tracks long and I‚ve to use up space somehow. Doesn't look
like I've put in any effort otherwise. The review then.
"Im Gegenteil" acts as a kind of preview release to two further full length Black Sun Productions releases. Tracks 1('A well hung monk') and 3 ('God?') are from "The Impossibility of Silence" recording and tracks 2 ('Clear skies and dark skies') and 4 ('Das gegenteil') taken from "Veneration X". Acting alongside Massimo & Pierce was someone called Drazen. He might be another dancer / performing artist for all I know.
Musically
Black Sun Productions aren‚t afraid to mix things up a little. Opening
with 'A well hung monk' they start with a simple piano refrain
over which a high frequency note is trailed blazing across it as a more
oppressive sound forms in the background. Tempered with this is various
electronic effects which makes for a beguiling sound sculpture overall.
The tempo is then upped for 'Clear skies and dark skies' where
they adopt a DAF electro sound with a spoken worded vocals taking centre
stage. On 'God?'... the shortest track here... they adopt a more
Der Plan electro sound. If you know your German groups you‚ll realise
the differences I'm talking about. Just like Der Plan they throw all these
weird electronic sounds, and additional sample, around... flinging them
here, there and everywhere. Ending on a high with 'Das gegenteil'
they adopt a tribal / ritual beat which grows in frenetic ferocity and
velocity before ending with a bout of scrambled chanting vocals.
There is something very endearing about hearing the music put out by Black
Sun Productions. Never wildly over cooked or produced they almost hark
back to a time when the more minimal approach to electronic music was
the accepted norm. They aren't afraid to diversify their sound - which
to me is a good sign and one that shows the artists are willing to take
gambles with their music. As a showcase for their releases, the 4 tracks
found on "Im Gegenteil" offer a valuable insight, call it "try
before you buy" if you must, into what you may expect to hear from
this act. Super stuff overall and not a bad word can be spoken or written
about the music. Makes a healthy change.
"Im Gegenteil" I believe means something like "the wrong
way" in German. More like the right way to these ears. Limited to
333 copies you can grab a copy direct from their website. I suggest you
do just that.
ANM