EBM Defiance

Terence Fixmer – Danse avec les ombres (Citizen)

At some point in the early nineties the first wave of EBM began to ossify into cliché. Once the most dynamic and forceful variant of electronic dance, it was far outdone by the harsher new sounds of techno and gabba and retreated into conservatism. Vocals and guitars predominated and the whole form seemed tired. Critical opinion almost never referred to it except as a strictly historical phenomenon and in some ways it became a niche scene. In fact, many of the techno producers (including those in Detroit) had grown up on a diet of Front 242, Nitzer Ebb, Skinny Puppy et al. and at some point in the late nineties it became acceptable to acknowledge and even to re-incorporate this sound. Belgian producer Fixmer was in the vanguard of this movement but more “fashionable” figures such as DJ Hell have also championed EBM and its textures have bled into electroclash and the work of many contemporary producers whose work seems to have no conceptual connection to EBM. The rediscovery of EBM (and other recently repressed and rejected sounds of the eighties) seems to be an acknowledgement that EBM (and also New Beat) stalled prematurely, and that its full potential was never fully realised. With the quantum leaps in technology during the nineties and the pushing back of the limits of force by techno it has now become possible to take the EBM template much further. However, much of this does not explicitly call itself EBM and certainly does not originate from within the defined EBM scene. Fixmer acknowledges his influences openly (even recording an album with Nitzer Ebb’s Doug McCarthy) but operates primarily within the techno/dance scene. Danse avec les ombres is one of the finest pieces of what could be called the neo-EBM sound and sets a standard even beyond the best of Fixmer’s previous tracks. Starting with what sounds like a reversed Stuka sample, it is joyfully strict, linear and harsh. It has the classic EBM spirit but is backed by a massive, previously unimaginable techno punch. B1, Impulsion, is rawer and bleaker, scoured by primitive sci-fi sound effects but still sustained by a massive kick and far beyond the majority of similar tracks. Only the O.Kaiser remix of Danse disappoints with its guitar-led electroclash populism. Yet if it attracts some new listeners and infects them with the EBM virus it may be no bad thing. Even with the remix this is a classic single, one of Fixmer’s finest. Unashamed “eighties industrial diehards” need look no further for a re-injection of the EBM spirit. Colossal.

Disko Stalemate?

Savvas Pascalidis – Disko Vietnam (Gigolo 134)


[DJ] Hell’s Gigolo label is extremely polarised. Many of its artists are torn between producing more heavy-duty dancefloor tracks and the kitsch outrages loved by the most superficial electroclash followers. This often results in strange hybrids and uneasy compromises between sleaze and force. The Gigolo aesthetic is based on a type of revolt against taste – a refusal to rule out stylistic options that are generally seen as just “too much.” Given some of the outrages for which Gigolo artists have been responsible, an album called “Disko Vietnam” doesn’t seem that remarkable or offensive. In any case, it would be wrong to single out Gigolo in this respect. Vietnam long ago became a systematically over-exploited pop cultural presence and connecting a vaguely hedonistic soundtrack to the war is much less tasteless than the myriad ‘Nam TV films. Even at its most tacky, the neo(n)-retro sound promoted by Gigolo and related labels and acts is only a more honest reflection of the generalised tastelessness of our contemporary kleptoculture. Even if only unintentional, there is a certain illustrative value in such defiant tastelessness, which has actually produced some extremely memorable electronic pop tracks that also work well as documents of their time.

Pascalidis’ first Gigolo album was one of hedonistic day-glo excess that also contained a few more stylish (though still sleazy) neo-EBM tracks. Disko Vietnam looks and sounds more serious, but only up to a point. The darker track titles and blood-stained artwork suggest a conscious attempt to move on from the more naïve mode of presentation seen previously. The album as a whole illustrates the unresolved tensions of the Gigolo style, which only its most talented producers such as Hell or David Carretta combine fluently. Here, everything seems to have been muted and even slowed down and neither of the Gigolo extremes dominates. The sequencing on “Move Your Body” could make it a dynamic neo(n)-retro classic yet it’s pulled back to ordinariness by the knowingly cute vocoder vocals. “Saigon Nightmare” has some dark Depeche Mode style chords but is not nearly aggressive or dark enough to symbolise what the title suggests. In fact, it doesn’t suggest anything worse than a reasonable album that could be much stronger. “U Can Do It” and several other tracks feature what are (presumably) knowingly ironic American voice samples that again spoil tracks that would be much better as instrumentals, free of these cheap clichés. Most tracks seem curiously slow, or in some cases not slow enough – “Vanishing Point” might actually sound more distinctive as a slower New Beat style track. That said, it is worth persevering with the album, at least for the triad of “Paranoia”, “The Formula” and “Acid Cock.” These are functional, dark, EBM-disko classics that leave a mark and come close to the dynamism of the finest Gigolo tracks. Overall, it seems as if the more “serious” instrumental tracks need a little more macht, while the more tacky tracks are not quite offensive or tasteless enough, so that neither aspect of the Gigolo sound is fully present here and devotees of either extreme may be disappointed by an inconclusive engagement.

Serious Electro

Various – Nobody’s Perfect Mixed by Andrea Parker (Touchin’ Bass)

Andrea Parker’s Touchin’ Bass label is gradually defining a new template for contemporary electro. Gathering friends and collaborators, she has released a series of vinyl-only singles, the highlights of which are gathered here. Her mix is typically tight and seamless. Like the vinyl releases, it tends towards the more brooding, moody side of electro. DJ Assault and DJ Godfather provide some electro ‘booty party’ clichés, but these are (comparatively) restrained, if slightly out of place within a fairly dark, serious and minimal mix. It’s hard to pick out individual tracks from such a tight mix, but the (post)-industrial electro sounds of Manasyt’s Scornfinger is very impressive, as are the Andrea Parker/David Morley tracks. These and some others have a subtle sense of drama and the Touchin’ Bass sound tends to reconfigure electro as a cinematic listening music - Hydraulix’s Zero One has some very dark, filmic sci-fi samples. There is a serious bass undertow running throughout the mix, so although it only really becomes ‘full on’ near the end, it still creates the desire to move (though relatively slowly). Overall, this tour through 21 tracks in under an hour is an excellent overview of the label and its contribution to the development of the genre.

First In/First Out

Current Late Winter Sounds:

The Hacker - Electronic Snowflakes from Reves Mechaniques (Different/PIAS France)
David Carretta - Let The Sunshine from Kill Your Radio (Gigolo)
Autopsia - Rosarium Moris from The Knife (Staalplaat)
F.R.U.I.T.S. - Palace Of Youth 96 from Forbidden Beat (Laton)
Alva Noto - Remodel from Transvision (Transall Cycle Part 2) (Raster Noton)

More soon...

Sonocentric - Catching Signals

Sonocentric - Centred on Sound.

So much academic and even journalistic writing on music evades the sounds. The sonocentric approach attempts to re-balance the situation. It means avoiding the extremes of either esoteric musicology or a-musical sociology. Here, everything begins from the sounds.