BLOOD RHYTHMS - "ROTE" (Industrial/Drone)

Started by NO PART OF IT, November 23, 2020, 01:29:01 PM

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NO PART OF IT



https://nopartofit.bandcamp.com/album/rote

During quarantine, Arvo Zylo spent a fair amount of time "microdosing" psychedelic mushrooms, and in that process, occasionally found a happy medium within the balance of functional creativity and intuition under that influence. In his constant quest to understand this strange concept of "minimalism" within his chaotic and hopelessly "maximalist" brain, it became relevant to explore areas that have been touched on in the past, but not fully realized, and to revisit some unreleased material from 2005 and modify it, as it seems part of a current "industrial drone zeitgeist" of sorts.

What we have here are further explorations in repetition and drone aesthetics, but the results are never truly minimal. Instead, there are often mountains of layers and loops, fused into something that might serve as heavy meditation music, for those few who are initiated enough to sit and ingest it without having an anxiety attack. One might call it "ecstatic drone", as it was a joy to create, and it was certainly not meant to promote restfulness exactly.

In some cases, there are samples of factory machines juxtaposed in a way that is effectively comparable to tribal drumming, while in other cases, there are several disparate sounds combined through space and time until it sounded like there was someone screaming in the mix somewhere; A sound of different source materials battling for dominance over one another. There are also plenty of parts here that could border on "harsh noise wall", but more in the application of layered sounds than layers of distortion, although there is plenty of that to be had as well.

Shifting tectonic plates of sound grind themselves into dust and are forgotten.

PLAY LOUD!


Cover art for "ROTE" is by Bradley Kokay. "Seven Stairs" features synthesizers by Daniel Burke.
A caterpillar that goes around trying to rip the wings off of butterflies is not a more dominant caterpillar, just a caterpillar that is looking for a bigger caterpillar to crush him.  Some caterpillars are mad that they will never grow to be butterflies.
 
https://www.nopartofit.bandcamp.com

NO PART OF IT

http://www.vitalweekly.net/1269.html

"Oh yeah, it isn't lyrics that are important, it's the tone of the songs" a friend once said to me. We were having a late-night conversation about whether music or word was more important to him. His argument was that words get in the way of music at times. After listening to 'ROTE' but Blood Rhythms I'm tempted to try and track him down again and send him this album.
    A reason is that it's instrumental. There are no words to get in the way of delirious music. 'ROTE' is an unwavering swath of noise. For 73-minutes Blood Rhythms contorts and confronts the senses in a way that is unlike a lot of what I've heard in the past 12 months. Opening track 'Seven Stairs' sounds like a swarm of bees are trying to get out of the speakers. As the song progresses the sound gets more and more frantic. Underneath this static buzz, there is a deep drone. At first, you don't notice it but over its nine-minute duration, it pulls you in until you aren't really paying attention to the buzzing and the deep, lapping drone. It reminds me of being on the beach in bad weather. At first, I am only able to hear the wind and waves crashing but after my ears attune themselves, I start to pick up the sound of the waves raking the pebbles across one another. The deep pull of the sea as it is drained from the beach before another wave thunders onto the beach.
    The standout track on the album is 'A Void of the Infinite Possibility'. This is the shortest track on the album, clocking in just over two minutes. Despite this, it puts the other tracks to shame considering how much it crams in. The main rhythm sounds like layers of W. Heath Robinson contraptions running at different speeds. The rhythms this creates are captivating. It takes a few listens to work out what is actually going on. After playing it half a dozen times, back-to-back, I still have no idea but as soon as it finishes, I am compelled to press play again. 'A Void of the Infinite Possibility' segues into 'Jagged Antimony'. This is an effectively a longer version of 'A Void of the Infinite Possibility'. It follows the same rules. The sound of ramshackle machinery is layered and looped to create a calamitous cacophony. Around the halfway mark it feels like a marching band is being mangled somehow and then looped over itself. This is about as good as it, or anything gets, but as soon as it starts it switches and the sound starts to sound aquatic and we're off down another avenue.
    'ROTE' is an album that is hard to get to the bottom of but it's fun trying. The titles give us slight ideas about what to expect, but 'A Metallic Cloud Cast a Black Shadow' can only give away so much. There is something wonderfully refreshing about how unrelenting and caustic it is. Throughout its duration, you are pummelled, prodded, cajoled, harangued, and generally crushed by wave after wave of destructive rhythms. However, there are elements of positivity and hope secreted in the writhing noise. 'A Metallic Cloud Cast a Black Shadow' features a recurring tone buried deep in its core. It is piecing and reminds me of stories of yore when the hero was saved by a mythic beast calling out to him. By following the noise, they escaped and were able to fight another day. This is what this tone is and if part what the album is.
A caterpillar that goes around trying to rip the wings off of butterflies is not a more dominant caterpillar, just a caterpillar that is looking for a bigger caterpillar to crush him.  Some caterpillars are mad that they will never grow to be butterflies.
 
https://www.nopartofit.bandcamp.com