Artist : Ben Frost
Title : Theory Of Machines
Genre : Electronic
Year : 2006
Date : 03/17/2007
Bitrate : VBR kbps
Tracks : 05
Label : Bedroom Community
Source : CDDA
Encoder : Lame 3.97
Length : 38:42 min
Size : 52,2 MB
Tracklist:
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01.Theory of Machines 09:30
02.Stomp 08:27
03.We love you Michael Gira 07:49
04.Coda 01:43
05.Forgetting you is like breathing Water 11:13
-------
38:42 min
from Boomkat:
Since the downfall of the whole bedroom electronica scene we have witnessed over the last couple of
years, experimental music has somewhat exploded, with cdrs, tapes, mp3s and limited vinyl leaking out of
small crevices the world over. Noise, avant-jazz, bubbling ambience, drone, metal û these disparate
genres have been embraced by the worldÆs eager musical fraternity and thanks to the wonders of modern
technology (read : the internet) sounds that were previously restricted to the learned few have suddenly
become available to the many. It is inevitable then that these sprawling styles will begin to blend and
glorious hybrids will eventually emerge û recently we saw Svarte Greiner lay claim to æacoustic doomÆ (a
peculiar blend of modern classical and black metal) and Panda Bear is set to stun us with æPerson PitchÆ;
his take on modern pop music as filtered through so many genres itÆs hard to even give it a name.
Australian born Iceland-resident Ben Frost isnÆt new to music, his debut full-length æSteel WoundÆ (on the
Room40 label) was a revelation to the few that heard it, and led to him securing a remix for none other than
IcelandÆs premier genre-bender herself Bjork, however æTheory of MachinesÆ is the album which is to
cement his name as one of the most interesting and in that, groundbreaking producers in the world today.
Blending the current trend for all things noisy with something altogether more æcomposedÆ we end up with a
curious concoction of Cliff Martinez and Wolf Eyes, stopping at planet Badalamenti for a strong cup of Joe
(ôblack like midnight on a moonless nightö). It should come as no surprise then that FrostÆs primary
influence (and sound sourceà) for the album was Michael GiraÆs seminal noise-rock band Swans, an
influence which bubbles majestically surface on the albumÆs central piece, cunningly titled æWe Love You
Michael GiraÆ. The track starts simply enough; shifting, moody synthesized tones sitting eerily next to
shivering waves of guitar noise before both give way to the sort of glacial blip-work that would make Mika
Vainio jealous, and then it hits you; chunks of percussive noise that enter the sound-field like a serial killer
bursting into the family home, gritty and abrasive, raw and untamed. The Swans factor isnÆt lost in this
track, itÆs something that needs to be played so loud that it almost hurts the eardrums for full, visceral
effect and proves as if proof be needed that Ben Frost is a rare producer who really knows how to use the
loud as it should be used. This isnÆt music that is compressed into bland nothingness, this has dynamic,
when the loud parts hit you, they really hit you û and strangely enough this gives the quieter sections even
more resonance. When the albumÆs gorgeous opening track æTheory of MachinesÆ builds finally into a short,
fuzz-ridden climax you truly feel it in full spine-tingling glory, it becomes one of those tracks you just have to
play again and again to re-capture the feeling. The album closes its pneumatic doors with the eleven-
minute epic æForgetting you is Like Breathing WaterÆ, which is as majestic and soulful a piece of electronic
music as you could possibly hear. In synthesized tones Frost creates a blissful symphony of machines, a
piece of music closer to Michael Nyman or Max Richter than to Autechre of Aphex Twin showing that finally
we really have moved on. Without a doubt one of the most essential albums you will hear this year û
æTheory of MachinesÆ is the future of electronic music.
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