With the recent explosion of interest in the noise scene, a number ofartists, some worthy and some not, have gotten a taste of (relative)success that in years past would have been unheard of. ChristopherForgues, the man behind Kites, utilizes a phalanx of pedals, circuitbreakers, microphones, and amps to achieve his unusual and bracing takeon music. Live, he screams, hisses, and flails into his mics and amps,achieving an unworldly scream of sound that it truly impressive for aone man band.Mountain Collective For Independent Artists
Superior Moon, a 3” mini CD released on a limited run of 1000 copies ontiny imprint Mountain Collective for Independent Artists, is anexcellent showcase for his sometimes deranged, sometimes haunting brandof musical experimentation. Whereas his last full length Peace Trialswas a good, if not flawed effort, this album's nine untitled tracks aremuch shorter and to the point than some of his previous material.
“Track 6” begins with a relatively gentle swell of electronicbeats with subdued electronic squiggles appearing over the beat. Thenext song begins with what sounds like a spliced sample, slowlybuilding along with a sleigh bell before being demolished by someelectronic hiss in the last ten seconds. “2” is anothertrack built on top of what sounds like electronic beats, but featuresthe sound of a swelling synthesizer as well. “9” isanother impressive track, one that approaches the caustic break beatfreak outs of an artist like Kid606.
While all the songs here areuniformly good, my one complaint is that it appears as though Kitesmight be reigning in his sound just a bit. While a few tracks do lashout with harsh tentacles of electronic hiss, for the most part thesetracks are dominated by subdued beats and slowly swelling sections ofwhite noise. On the other hand, this restraint does serve to make thisrelease one Kites’ most accessible yet. And while there are surelygoing to be those who complain that this accessibility will equal alesser record, the fact is that it is just indicative of the type ofrisks Forgues is willing to take with his one man project.
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