Ilios - Old Testament

Ilios
Old Testament
Antifrost afro2017

Marhaug/Courtis
North and South Neutrino
Antifrost afro2021

The Barcelona-based Antifrost (a Greek label, ahem) is among a small consortium of European labels that have cooperative relations in terms of distribution and a relatively short, unintrusive promotional philosophy. Each of their releases is devoid of supplemental information, aside from who's making the racket and when the sounds were put to tape. Word of mouth is largely relied upon in the niche music they feature, and an appreciative press seems to almost unanimously praise their work. These two releases from musicians of differing, separate approaches make a fine point of entry for those interested in investigating, and here's why.

Old Testament is neither dud nor masterpiece, but it's well worth a listen, and certainly to get acquainted with the bold work of Ilios. The Greek-born experimentalist is best known for captivating live performances that incorporate dance, visual arts and computer-generated multimedia, and often leaves audiences scratching heads in disbelief – one such occasion featured laptop music with the artist performing from inside a 2-man camping tent. Old Testament is his fourth release for Antifrost, not including appearances on compilations, and the music is downright unsettling: driven from cross-connects of samples, drone patterns are intermittently intruded upon by percussive, soul-shocking sound bites, creating a worrisome system of sounds hell-bent on alarming the unwary listener. It’s broken music, really, and Ilios puts steady faith in the idea that schizophrenic post-production can be as vital to the experience as comprehensibility and finesse. Where there’s beauty, it lies in the utter tangibility of the sounds and the manners in which the segments are spliced and patchworked together. Ilios doesn’t want you to get comfortable, he wants your attention, and the initiated are bound to have their curiosity raised. This disc is evidently the first in a series of “Testament” volumes, and it’ll be interesting to see what becomes of music that already appears resurrected.

Where the Ilios disc is rowdy, Lasse Marhaug and Anla Courtis’ North and South Neutrino is simply euphoric. Reynols fans should be familiar with Courtis (Argentina), and Lasse Marhaug (Norway) is an unsung colonist of the Scandinavian noise scene. The rumors are true, Neutrino is a production the two had undertaken over a period of five years(!). A single piece, the track is as breathtaking as anything to come out of "experimental" music, though the textures sound anything but thrown together. Ultra-slow transitions are steered over its 45 minute course, from high-pitched whispered fizz to low, shaking resonances, often overlayed to form a sensible junction of the field recordings used. There is an evolution to the music which Marhaug and Courtis apparently designed without any inclinations to shock, but rather to delicately craft their selected materials. It’s ultimately a step in the direction away from the anything-goes mentality that is sometimes more evident than necessary in new music.

~Alan Jones