Richard H. Kirk "Darkness at Noon" Touch TO:41 1999 (38:00)
(38:00)
It's been a couple months since the last Richard H. Kirk release, Al Jabr "One Million and Three" so it's time for a new one! RHK (Cabaret Voltaire) once again uses his given name here rather than one of the numerous other monikers: Sandoz, Sandoz in Dub, Trafficante, Nitrogen, Dark Magus, Sweet Exorcist, Agents with False Memories, the Electronic Eye, etc. "Darkness at Noon" was recorded April 20th, 1999 in Western Works Studios as part of a performance for phototaktik, Wien, Austria ... which I'm assuming is a live radio show. The single 38 minute track is entirely beat less, but "ambient" isn't really the right word to describe it. It's fairly similar to the "Knowledge Through Science" and "Agents With False Memories" discs, minus the beats. Kirk assembles a patchwork of news report and call number sample loops and meshes them with analog synth notes, drones and oscillations. The double slip case explains it in further detail:
real and synthesised sounds of battle
clandestine and other short wave transmissions
fighter plane communications numbers/co-ordinates
the nova light show
electronic assault systems
digital warfare
the use of atomic fission to decompose human beings and
their cities
the human nervous system amplified under torture
With the exception of a few minutes of sheer intensity near the beginning and end, the majority of the piece has an unsettling vibe and fairly spontaneous feel. It's very gritty, analog, claustrophobic and paranoid ... in other words it's very Richard H. Kirk. I'll never get tired of his work. Let's see if Kirk can squeeze another one out before the end of the millennium ...
Cabaret Voltaire
at Brainwashed
Richard
H. Kirk fan page
Where did I get this cd? - mail order via Riouxs Records.