Terence Hannum – ‘Dread Majesty’ CS/newspaper
Terence Hannum’s solo work and Locrian output has put him in the conversation as one the most exciting artists creating dark experimental music today, and his newest solo effort out May 7 underscores that further. ‘Dread Majesty,’ the second installment in Hannum’s cassette/newspaper series, drifts into rhythmic territory and is denser than last year’s ‘In The Sign,’ also released on Accidental Guest. The two pieces on ‘Dread Majesty’ concentrate on textures that build up within this 20 minute cassette. A-side, “The Idea of the Sacred,†begins with a rhythmic loop that explodes into menacing synths. Hannum continues to explore new territory on the B-side, “Up to the Threshold,†which draws influences from the avant spectrum of black metal and bits of modern composition. Hannum finds the right balance somewhere between Beemask, Ramleh, and Ildjarn to create something completely new on this cassette. ‘Dread Majesty’ is a triumph and a highlight in Terence Hannum’s growing discography. ‘Dread Majesty’ features a selection of magazine collages done by Terence Hannum that juxtapose excised heads of hair over sutured summits and icy landscapes. Their enigmatic titles “The Immaterialâ€, “Architecture of the Air†and “Artificial Infinite†harken towards the classic conceptions of the sublime as a place where enormity erases identity. In “Dread Majesty†this classic conception is revisited and updated with the imagery of faceless and anonymous heads floating over immense extreme nature scenes to isolate the vastness and isolate the individual experience.
No Paris – ‘Cimmerian’ CS
‘Cimmerian’ is the debut release by No Paris. The music here occupies a space between nervous tensions and a mind drifting into an abyss. It’s not too far off from experiencing moments in a David Lynch film where the camera takes you into an isolated crevice creating a claustrophobic effect that is as much terrifying as it is exhilarating. The opener “Deep (End)” takes a pulsating bass sequence and bounces the delays between your ears, constantly building in dynamic. It’s a bit like Steve Reich if Music for 18 Musicians was written 100 years into the future. The minimal/ambient arrangements work great against harsh subway commuting or long stretches of highway, but, if you are the adventurous type, try listening to a track like “Expectation” late at night, in the dark, with the volume turned way up. The damp brooding atmospheres take on a punishing doppelganger appearance, familiar, but much more sinister. No Paris slowly pulls you in until you realize you’re all alone, staring into the void and if there’s something out in the dark, it’s staring directly back at you.
S.W.I.M. – ‘Harm Reducer’ CS
SWIM’s artworks are saturated with obviousness, mental inertia, clichés and bad jokes. SWIM’s works sometimes radiate a cold and latent violence. At times, disconcerting beauty emerges. The inherent visual seductiveness, along with the conciseness of the exhibitions, further complicates the reception of their manifold layers of meaning. By manipulating the listener to create confusion, SWIM formalizes the coincidental and emphasizes the conscious process of composition that is behind the seemingly random works. The thought processes, which are supposedly private, highly subjective and unfiltered in their references to dream worlds, are frequently revealed as assemblages.
SWIM’s works question the conditions of appearance of an image in the context of contemporary visual culture in which images, representations and ideas normally function. By experimenting with aleatoric processes, he creates work in which a fascination with the clarity of content and an uncompromising attitude towards conceptual and minimal art can be found. The work is aloof and systematic and a cool and neutral imagery is used. SWIM’s works are notable for their perfect finish and tactile nature. SWIM’s is of great importance and bears witness to great craftsmanship. By focusing on techniques and materials, he tries to create works in which the actual event still has to take place or just has ended: moments evocative of atmosphere and suspense that are not part of a narrative thread. The drama unfolds elsewhere while the build-up of tension is frozen to become the memory of an event that will never take place.