Ever since I was a kid, I've been fascinated by the sounds that everyday (electronic) items emit. I remember scanning the various wavebands on my crappy Supertech radio and taping (note to self: find those tapes) all the weird clicks and whirrs and beeps and screeches and disembodied voices in my very early teens. There is something so fascinating about it that even up to this day I can't get enough of it. It's like pareidolia but with sound. Digging for patterns, melodies even in what to most people is just a hopeless cacophonous mess of noise. I think I've said it before, but it's safe to say that noise is an integral part of my life. I love listening to it, I love going to shows and I love making it. There's something primal about it that I just can't ignore. Not that I want to...
So even though I consider myself fairly knowledgeable, this compilation just goes to show that you can't know everything. In fact, if this compilation is any indication of what's happening (or has happened) in this genre worldwide, there's probably a massive heap of things I don't know or have never ever heard about. Which is good, I like a challenge. And challenging this is. Here we have 11 tracks from 9 artists that were active in the Peruvian (yes, Peru) noise and industrial underground in the very early 1990s. Aesthetically very much rooted in the DIY punk and grindcore scene, the music itself couldn't be further removed from any kind of genre. One could say it barely classifies as music anymore..
It is very hard for me to describe an album like this, especially if you are not familiar with this genre. Most people will find this completely and utterly unlistenable. Adventurous people will have their tolerance boundaries stretched and probably broken. Even for seasoned noiselovers it still demands a huge understanding of what noise is about to receive some sort of enjoyment. It is, however, always fascinating. Especially considering the background of this scene from a, let's face it, country you wouldn't normally associate with extreme music.
It's best to listen for yourself, even if you will probably hate me for making you do just that. People who feel that their noise library could use some expansion and are into acts like Runzelstirn And Gurglestock, Masonna, Gerogerigegege, Justice Yeldham and things like that will find much to like, with a fascinating backstory on top of it.
Bjorn