Another cassette out of the beautiful city of Aachen in Germany. And again, it’s from the Benevolent Pain label and yes, Marcus – the man behind the label – can also be heard here. First of all, the projects. D.K.E., a.k.a. The Dunning- Kruger Effect, is a project of Sebastian Schweren who people might know of config.sys, Contaminant or Swanika. Marcus is the second guy there and helps out live and such. The reverse side is inhabited by Persons Unknown, which is Marcus’ project, and there Sebastian helps out in live situations because, after all, otherwise, Person Unknown would have been a better name.
‘The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which people with limited competence in a particular domain overestimate their abilities, ‘ it says on the almighty Wiki. ‘Some researchers also include the opposite effect for high performers: their tendency to underestimate their skills.’ But is there any relationship to the music? Let’s find out. The D.K.E. track “Shtriga” covers 30 minutes and, therefore, the whole side of this nicely packed tape in an edition of 23 copies. Again, with a skull in a test tube, I think it’s a matter of collecting them all. The track opens with minimal manipulated beats and sudden full explosions of noise. Dynamics are all over the place, and deep synth/drone layers and moments of self-reflection enter the composition—minimal, a bit orchestral, crunchy edges. Where I thought it would be rhythmical or noise, it turns out to be soundscapish with an emphasis on sound design. It’s a beautifully sculpted piece, with loads of dynamics and careful choice of sounds.
The Persons Unknown side of this split is an entirely different style, but after hearing the first tones, it’s clear that this person has something to say. Musically, you can’t get any closer to yourself when you show emotion, and when you do power electronics, it’s as close as you get to showing the back of your tongue (edit: a Dutch saying). Five tracks of power electronics with a strong DIY attitude, with which I mean that it’s less polished than the American version of this style. It’s way more of a punk attitude, ‘I had to suffer, now it’s your turn,’ and I like it. And on the fifth track, “Für Was Betest Du?” (For what are you praying?) Marcus again works with Der Verlorene Faden on the Me & Bukowski split, also reviewed in this Vital. It seems a track where the music is created by Marcus and the vocals are by Micha and they both have something to say. Keep talking to my friends, making music, letting those emotions go, letting the anger out … Just be sure to press ‘record’ and let me suffer with you.
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