The second single in the Safe as Milk/Melektronikk collaborativeMilkland series brings together two subjects that couldn't be moreopposite from each other, and that seems to be part of the point. Safeas Milk is a Norwegian label that releases acts more rock in nature,while its sister label Melektronikk specializes in acts that areexperimental electronic; so any collaboration between the two will havemixed effects on the psyche, as this one does in spades. Milkland 2features Vibracathedral Orchestra, whose music easily reminds me ofasylums. Not the patients, mind you, because I think this music woulddrive them even more over the edge if they heard it; but I clearly feelthe waiting rooms and observation stations where you can actually seethe afflicted in this music. I imagined an entire dance troupe ofloonies, or as I called them the Psychotic Conservatory, flailingaround in anger, sitting in the middle of the floor chanting nonsense,and crying while jumping up and down. "Rain Gutter Teasing Rusty CatSneezing" is an amalgam of instruments and sounds that is not easilydigested or understood, and although I found it at the same timeinteresting and unnerving, it made me want to listen to their atonaldrone more. Phonophani, on the other hand, a side project of Alogmember Espen Sommer Eide, is manic noise of a far different sort. Beepsand bloops are the main percussion of "Bees - They Will Sting You" fora few seconds, then layer upon layer of flourish and glitch are addedon top, compelling the rhythm and tone into some bizarre roboticchoreography. Eventually, it seems as though the machines are acting ontheir own accord, no longer caring or paying attention to what thehuman programming them is asking or wants. Wonderfully creative musicfrom both artists, even though it makes me ponder whether either has ascrew or two loose.samples:
- Vibracathedral Orchestra - Rain Gutter Teasing Rusty Cat Sneezing
- Phonophani - Bees - They Will Sting You
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