Distorted, lo-fi hip hop beats underneath dense
piles of audio rubble: warped samples, hiss, the
throbbing racket of a thousand less-than-thrilled
hornets, and some very ready Mic Controllers.
Fact is, this has been done before (albeit in a
much less potent form). By these very same
gentlemen. Justin Broadrick was sewing up
glacial, elephantine ditties in Godflesh that
harkened back to early '80's Swans. Godflesh were
a thing of monstrous beauty. If their
Streetcleaner album had been a painting, it would
have proven too enormous to hang. Broadrick was
occupied, composing miniature symphonies to a
decadent planet falling inside of it's own
caducity. His worldview was correspondent in the
outfit Head of David, and also Napalm Death.
Kevin Shields was off with his own creation
(constructing God, rather than the other way
around), and the pair would meet to flesh out
ideas, which were spread across ten releases,
since they began a decade ago on Shield's
Pathological label. His "Pathological
Compilation"
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has the two working
together, but in opposite camps, and is well
worth the months you might spend searching for
it.
"Brotherhood", issue number
eleven (counting their singles and EPs), finds
them attaching some restless, rhymes dripping
with claustrophobia to several tracks here, as
the Anti Pop Consortium, Vast Air (of Cannibal
Ox), dalek, Toastie Taylor (New Flesh), El-P
(Company Flow), Sonic Sum, and Rubberoom come
together to re-examine hip-hop, and possibly
create 'Dark Hop', though rumors of it's
existence already fill these moist surroundings.
From God, to Godflesh, to Techno Animal (which,
were the band an actual living creature, it would
have been under enforced sequestration long ago).
Martin and Broadrick have produced a legacy of
music that redefines 'monolithic', and almost
makes it seem silly when you hear someone else
say "Oh, that's really heavy, that new
Metallica number!"
By Jason Thornberry, CanEHdian.com
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