Richard H. Kirk "Knowledge Through Science" Blast First/Mute Irreg4CD 1998 (37:19)
Knowledge Through Science (37:19)
Overall impression: good. RHK strikes yet again! The ever prolific Kirk has churned out yet another cd, his 3rd this year I believe (see also Sandoz in Dub "Chant to Jah" and Trafficante "Is This Now?"), this time under his own name rather than one of his many other monikers (see also: Cabaret Voltaire, Electronic Eye, Sandoz, Sandoz in Dub, Agents with False Memories, Trafficante, Nitrogen, Dark Magus and Sweet Exorcist). This disc was initially available for free at the July 23, 1998 Richard H. Kirk show in England, but is now cheaply available via the Mute Records label. The cd contains 1 37+ minute track that shifts and changes through beat-y and ambient sections. The music sounds like a blend of the raw production techniques of the Agents and the more recent Trafficante "Is This Now?" discs with the ambient feel of RHK's 1993 album "Virtual State". Kirk mixes blurry radio transmissions and samples (a predominantly repeated one is a man saying "knowledge"), distortion via digital clipping (which is a bit annoying in some places), 2 or 3 noiser bits that are reminiscent of late 70's Cabaret Voltaire, and all sorts of delayed and reverbed blurps and beeps with beats. The beats come and go, leaving long breakdown / buildup ambient and/or noise breaks, thus giving the track a sort of uncomfortable vibe as it never really seems to predictably gel (and that's a good thing!) Great stuff, a nice companion to the other two '98 discs from RHK. It's nice to hear Kirk vary and improve his output a bit more this year than the past 5 or so years ...
Cabaret Voltaire
at Brainwashed
Mute Records
Richard
H. Kirk fan page