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Absolut Null Punkt, "Metacompound"
The first studio material recorded by KK Null and Seijiro Murayama in almost 20 years achieves a sonic symbiosis that’s both riveting and incendiary. While there are plenty of noisy electronics involved, they entertain rather than alienate on this chaotic yet warm recording.
In a lot of ways, the percussion is the backbone of this album, providing a structural backdrop against which to better appreciate KK Null’s textural bag of tricks. Hums, drones, sci-fi sound effects, blistering roars, grinding machines, and haunted voices all erupt at different times and from different places in the audio spectrum.
"Metacompound G2A" is like the revving of some cumbersome machinery to warm its engine before launching into space. Halfway through the track, outer space is reached while disembodied voices offer constricted exhalations. Laser beams and loops arise to swamp the background, ending with echo blasts into a vast canyon. The drums come out more quickly in "Metacompound JK," grounding the track while a drone vacillates between two tones in a simulacrum of harmony and other electronics scramble for footing. A third of the way through the track, the drums collapse and deconstruct into a haphazard rhythm. The whole song is reduced to a minimal state momentarily before the percussion returns with a vengeance, pushing the electronics to the back while assuming the fore. Then the floor drops out suddenly to reveal broken glass and an echo chime effect. This is quickly overrun by a scrap heap loop that clears the way for the percussion to return yet again. The third and final track finds the drums gaining an even greater prominence. Aided by electronic percussion, they build a head of steam and run for the horizon, eventually stopping in favor of explosions.
Considering how many unexpected textures and rhythms pop up in the span of a single track, it’s hard not to like this album. The duo carves out a sonic palette that’s as electric and captivating as an approaching thunderstorm.
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