dark ambient / drone / experimental
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Ever since Serge announced his Misantronics release on Sombre Soniks, I was wondering to myself: "Is this something that should be reviewed on Merchants Of Air?" I mean, it is no secret that Serge is both the founder of MOA as well as the sole member of Misantronics. And if it was a secret, sorry I told everyone Serge. So, reviewing a release of someone who is technically 'my boss' (he hates it when I call him that..) but most of all a pleasant workpartner and a good pal, is that a good idea?. What if it turns out if it is a pile of horsemanure? The thing is, we at MOA do not believe in bad reviews. Sure, there are loads of releases that pass through our virtual- as well as physical mailbox that one or several of us doesn't like. But you know what, we just pass it on to someone who does like it, who is able to write something nice about it. Art is highly subjective, be it paintings, sculpture, theatre, writings or indeed, music. But one thing is certain; all art is created by someone who has put his or her heart and soul into it. His or her blood, sweat and tears. For it to be burned into the ground by some reviewer is something that we at MOA do not condone.
So, by that reasoning, the fact that you are reading this means that this is going to be a nice review, right? Well, yeah, you're right! However, that would be the case, regardless of who was behind Misantronics. In fact, Serge doesn't even know I'm doing this review. Well he does now, since he puts these online of course.
Misantronics has been going quite steadily for some 8 odd years now, releasing what he damn well pleases in both digital and physical form. I came into contact with the release 'Mi Nahi' when his wife, who happens to be my colleague, approached me with that cd release a couple of years ago. She knew of my love for noise, ambient, industrial and drones. She also knew how much I love the early days of the Cold Meat Industry label and my days as a dweller of underground industrial parties. And Misantronics is practically an embodiment of all those things. It hearkens back to the good old days of those quality CMI releases. and 'Contraformance' is no different. Part field recording, part live performance, part soundscape using earlier pieces, these two half-our tracks present some of the strongest of Misantronics to date. They are droning, rhythmic, industrial, ambient monsters that recall the likes of In Slaughter Natives, Morthond, Raison d'Etre, Mortiis, Sanctum.. All the great acts from the glory days of Cold Meat Industry. I was instantly transported back to those mid- to late 1990's. Washes of blissed-out ambience are underlined by distant tribal drums and fragments of field recordings, grinding static, deep drones, curious samples (I'm pretty sure I'm hearing the MOA mascotte Lina the Cat somewhere) and gloomy industrial rhythms. It is the soundtrack to bad dreams but at the same time you don't want those dreams to end.
I'm playing this now, as I write, at the end of a hard day of labour in my garden. Immersed in total darkness. A glass of wine close by, as well as my cat Knäuli and one of my french bulldogs, Jef. And I cannot imagine a better ending of my day... If you, like me, often long for those days when you knew that every release CMI did, you need this.
Now, if only I would be payed doing MOA, now would be the time I could ask Serge for a raise...
Bjorn
So, by that reasoning, the fact that you are reading this means that this is going to be a nice review, right? Well, yeah, you're right! However, that would be the case, regardless of who was behind Misantronics. In fact, Serge doesn't even know I'm doing this review. Well he does now, since he puts these online of course.
Misantronics has been going quite steadily for some 8 odd years now, releasing what he damn well pleases in both digital and physical form. I came into contact with the release 'Mi Nahi' when his wife, who happens to be my colleague, approached me with that cd release a couple of years ago. She knew of my love for noise, ambient, industrial and drones. She also knew how much I love the early days of the Cold Meat Industry label and my days as a dweller of underground industrial parties. And Misantronics is practically an embodiment of all those things. It hearkens back to the good old days of those quality CMI releases. and 'Contraformance' is no different. Part field recording, part live performance, part soundscape using earlier pieces, these two half-our tracks present some of the strongest of Misantronics to date. They are droning, rhythmic, industrial, ambient monsters that recall the likes of In Slaughter Natives, Morthond, Raison d'Etre, Mortiis, Sanctum.. All the great acts from the glory days of Cold Meat Industry. I was instantly transported back to those mid- to late 1990's. Washes of blissed-out ambience are underlined by distant tribal drums and fragments of field recordings, grinding static, deep drones, curious samples (I'm pretty sure I'm hearing the MOA mascotte Lina the Cat somewhere) and gloomy industrial rhythms. It is the soundtrack to bad dreams but at the same time you don't want those dreams to end.
I'm playing this now, as I write, at the end of a hard day of labour in my garden. Immersed in total darkness. A glass of wine close by, as well as my cat Knäuli and one of my french bulldogs, Jef. And I cannot imagine a better ending of my day... If you, like me, often long for those days when you knew that every release CMI did, you need this.
Now, if only I would be payed doing MOA, now would be the time I could ask Serge for a raise...
Bjorn