The Benevolent Pain label has been around for quite some time, but in the first years, they made one release every few years, which isn’t a bad thing, just a remark. Behind the label is Marcus, who has been a member of the Aachener noise scene since we met in the AZ in Aachen, probably mid-90s. And when we meet up it’s also mainly in Aachen or somewhere else more towards the Ruhr area. The first release they did I probably bought at Machinenfest, was a 12″ with tracks by Dazzling Malicious (which is Marcus), Ahnst Anders, Contagious Orgasm and Hôpital. Yes, there are some mighty acceptable names on there! Me & Bukowski is another project by Marcus and Der Verlorene Faden, who I had never heard of before. As said, Marcus is known of Dazzling Malicious and Persons Unknown; behind Der Verlorene Faden goes Micha von Elend from Leipzig, 100% female rage, distortion, bass, effects and love. As a little spoiler before this review ends, I will definitely check her out, as this release has some great moments.
Ok, so we have a cassette here, gold, limited to 23 pieces in a black drawer cardboard box and it comes with a skull in a test tube. The length is about 22 minutes per side, where side A has one piece titled “Deine Gedanken in meiner Erinnerung”, and side B has five shorter pieces. “Deine Gedanken in meiner Erinnerung” (your thoughts in my memory) is a lengthy composition with fragments of anything. Noisy as hell but in a good way, it combines moments of spoken words, anger, emotion, and samples of old music … It’s like a journey through the mind and memories of a troubled person who can’t comprehend reality in a way he should … Wait, what was this band called? Hmm … I think …
The reverse side as said, has five shorter tracks, also summing up to 22 minutes. The style doesn’t differ much from the other side, which is a sign that Marcus and Micha found a nice synergy in their mutual composing. There is a bit more attention for Micha’s vocal work but in all honesty, not everything is as coherent and easy to follow. But hey, it’s noise. Were you ever able to follow each performer with shitloads of effects on his or her voice? One track got to me the moment I heard it first. “Coping Strategy” has a part where – with the happiest of voices – the lyrics are ‘I hate you’. That’s tension or duality if you ever thought you had heard anything. The sounds are cut up into some kind of structure and heavy noise through a phaser chokes the whole thing up. “Days of Stress” is the loudest / hardest one on this release when it comes to harsh and erratic (though not as erratic as I’m used from f.e. the American scene), and “Sublimation” is like a noise drone/HNW and it makes sad because it’s only 3 minutes … I want more.
Comments
Post a Comment