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«CORTEX!» MC Dark Star DS306 deleted reissue
duration: 69'44" 1.
Imaginé 5'28"
Composed,
produced & engineered by ZBB. Steve Freeman: synths, tapes, guitar, voice. info... "Imaginé" is possibly ZBB's most
"commercial" number, a kind of dedication to the underground French
scene of the era. Nigel's convincing French vocals are a vital factor here,
whilst Alan & Steve set a series of "machines" in motion. A potential
hit single? I think not! "Midnight Plus Midnight Plus One" is a sizeable
slab of looming intensity, a raw and sinister mind-journey through culture
and conflict, writhing and growing in power, overloaded with electronics.
Deliberately bizarre tones were chosen to create an uneasy feeling, until the
burning brain explodes! It's a work with its feet in rock culture and its
head in the weirdest realms of "classical avant-garde". There's
still nothing else quite like it. "Velvet Light Trap" is a big contrast. With the
accent on restraint, it follows much more enigmatically, and is a work that
eludes any attempt at categorisation altogether. Here we are taken to a sound
world that's a step aside from Nurse With Wound, somewhere betwixt the
strangest Pierre Henry, free-form Stockhausen and the peculiar structures of
Dome. This work oozes and languishes with menacing unease, with the barest of
structure and musical reference. The spirit of Dadaism and the Futurists
returns! "Out Of The Ashes" resulted from the strange
story behind the «Cortex!» tape release, which was condensed from two
intensive sessions, with the first mix being carried out by Alan & Nigel.
Steve thought he could do better, however, and spent a whole weekend
reconstructing and layering sections into the two vast sonic experiences:
"Midnight Plus Midnight Plus One" and "Velvet Light
Trap". Parts of the earlier mixes formed some of the material Alan used
on the later "Out Of The Ashes" cassette, of which the title track
is included here. As such, this bonus follows-on almost though it was always
intended to! 15 years on from its original release, «Cortex!» can now
be heard in all its glory, nicely transferred to digital format by Colin
Potter at ICR studio in Preston. Discover the «Cortex!» Be prepared to be
challenged! reviews... ZIRCON & THE BURNING BRAINS
- CORTEX! (CD by Ultima Thule) After feeding this CD into my player I got tangled up in a
timewarp and felt myself being dragged back countless years ago to the mid
eighties. And no wonder, because this release is somewhat of a historical
document of ZBB, who made all these recordings in that period. Funny thing
is: it's a lot of fun, because several of their influences are pretty
evident, to say the least: Nurse With Wound, Throbbing Gristle and so on.
Simple means were used to create the music: some synths, tape(loop)s, records
and a Sinclair Spectrum. The music is drenched in FX, but leaves enough space
for other sounds. A pretty weird release, not unlike soundtracks from sixties
sci-fi movies of inferior quality. Which is great of course. Actually the
first track is the shortest (just over 5 minutes) and, imo the least
interesting one. The other three tracks (all more or less 20 minutes) are a
lot stronger and are constructed with care and a lot of time. Old, but good!
(MR) [from
http://www.staalplaat.com/vital_archive/204.txt] Versions... |
«CORTEX!»
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