Tuesday 12 October 2010

Evocation - Demons

There’s a new mix CD by Demdike Stare called ‘Industrial Desert’, which is good news, and I’d recommened it but chances are if you know their work you’ll have ordered it anyway and if you don’t...you’re even slower on the uptake than me and if that’s the case, despite having sung their praises here before I’ll do so again: BUY ANYTHING BY DEMDIKE STARE!!! He shouts from the rooftop.

So whilst listening to ‘Industrial Desert’ I surfed and find a new Soundcloud mix by Canty and Whittaker which has a track listing (unlike their CD mixes, sadly), and one of the tracks that caught my ear was by Demons, so I looked them up, found their ‘Evocation’ album from 2007 and bought it. Damned if it isn’t the best thing I’ve heard in ages. Nate Young and Steve Kenney make an incredible noise using Sequential Circuits Pro-One synths, one of which was rescued post-Katrina, both being more or less ‘broken’. According to Young they turned them on, listened to them playing themselves, and put the recordings out as Demons. A great story but somehow, as much as I like to think it’s true, more likely a good yarn, a wonderful idea, the old notion of machines taking over, or in this case, making music all by themselves. If that’s the case here, more old synths should simply be turned on a left to make their own magic. ‘Evocation’ sounds like classic sci-fi/horror soundtracks grunged up and driven to such extremes that the terror seems to stem from the nightmares of the synths rather than the minds of Young and Kenny. This isn’t pure Noise for the sake of trying to make your ears bleed, but rather four sonic excursions of shifting moods and textures. That said, play it loud in the ‘phones and you’ll probably feel a warm trickle of claret down your cheeks. Amazing sounds.

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