It's
not only the first compilation release for Rexx Arkana's newly
established label Haus Arkana, it's also kind of a heart-melting
project which at least has some historically meaningful content to
offer. There's a sentimental storyboard behind this 4CD-set. Let's
turn back an imaginary wheel of time into the years 1994 -1996. The
Milwaukee-based radio-DJ
and writer for the legendary Industrial Nation-magazine, Ric Laciak,
has founded his own label RAS DVA out of the Leaether Strip US-fan
base GAWMUS. First releases have been such notable outputs of
Benestrophe (a Mentallo & The Fixer-side project), “Sensory
Deprivation”, or the well recognized Kevorkian Death Cycle debut
“Collection For Injection”.
Since
I was personally involved as being a writer for the German glossy
print-magazine Vertigo to that time, I still remember our days of
pride, to have had contact with this fine, eloquent person and the
inspiring conversations with him just from the beginning and for the
most time without e-mail – fax messages or written letters did the
job. It resulted in a license deal of a Kevorkian Death Cycle-track
to be switched on one of our Vertigo-compilations accompanying the
print-magazine (“Faithless (Club Edit)” - Vertigo Compilation
03/1996).
However,
the biggest impact this small label has left for the posterity was
without doubt the legendary 4-CD / quadruple compilation “There Is
No Time” with its innovative cardboard slipcase packaging. This
opulent compilation still stands for being one of the few
groundbreaking, must-have-items in anyone's collection. It has
presented the state-of-art of underground Industrial music and
included dozens of music projects licensed from various labels
world-wide.
Again, and just check out the terrific track list via
Discogs with well-known artists side by side with promising newcomer
acts, this hallmark of a compilation can't be missed at all.
The
activities around the label RAS DVA then ended in 1998, shortly after
the release of Jihad's “A Prayer In The Night” debut album. In
2006 the label made some online activities with future music plans
but finally it hasn't worked out. Founder Ric Laciak unfortunately
passed away in November 2014 from complications with cancer.
To
conclude this and the tragic loss of Ric, here finally comes a fact I
had to learn out of this history. It was Rexx Arkana being pretty
much involved, doing promotion works for RAS DVA and collaborated
with Ric in those days. It was all about to share their love and
dedication for Industrial and, unfortunately but necessary, a history
of cancer. Both have seemingly had their ideas for a second edition
of the “quadruple monster” before Ric passed away.
So
this is all about it, “Passing Strangers” is the quadruple
release, that kind of dedication to
RAS DVA and to Ric Laciak – maybe that imaginary second edition
already considered. Actually I feel myself pretty much thrown into a
similar feeling of curiosity to listen CD after CD and to discover
the pearls which also “Passing Strangers” has to offer. Just
check the track list below and with respect to the meaning behind
this compilation, it is almost impossible to give out a
track-by-track review. I rather like to pick out a few of the most
valuable contributions.
Disc
One impresses with the highest amount of popular global-players
compared to the all other discs on this quadruple set and with Orange
Sector, Kevorkian Death Cycle, Lights Of Euphoria or Leaether Strip
(here available as guest vocalist for Blind Vision), there are a few
participants which have been already guests on “There Is No Time”,
27 years before. On the other hand, since there are so many familiar
names on Disc One here, the amount of exclusive tracks only available
on “Passing Strangers” here is reduced to zero. Nevertheless I
like the float on it thanks to cleverly chosen apposition, this whole
CD1 impresses on almost all tracks. Worth to point out are a few of
the lesser discovered projects so far. Texas-based Curse Mackey,
founding member of Evil
Mothers and collaborator for My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult,
offers us with “Lacerations” a solid, stomping Industrial-tune
with subtle, accompanying guitar riffs. The icy, deep and dense
synth-layer- programmings of Daniel Myer (haujobb.), here active
under his pseudonym DSTR, are definitely ear-catching resulting into
another fine tune. “Man Made” by Kevorkian Death Cycle can be
found originally on their 1996-debut “Collection For Injection”,
but lately the band around Roger Jarvis and Ryan Gribbin made a few
re-recordings from a few tracks out of this phase and this is one of
them.
Disc
Two kicks off with a stomping Suicide Commando-track (also a
contributor to “There Is No Time”) and presents with Point5 a new
project by Ole Anders Olsen (alias Andy LaPlegua –> Combichrist,
Icon Of Coil, Scandy, Panzer AG, and, and, and...) until Rexx Arkana
himself participates under his famous FGFC820 with a new, unreleased
remix of “Crush”, a track originally taken from their album
“Homeland Insecurity” (2012). After some closer to guitar-driven
Industrial sounds by UK's Inertia or Stoneburner, the tone of this
disc changes more and more into TBM / EDM styles (Stoppenberg, ESA,
Cenotype). Pretty Retro-EBM-like bass lines and a straight drum
pattern programming – so sounds the contribution of the UK-based
talent Discipline & Control, while the dramatic,
out-of-range-like vocal performance is somewhat of getting used to
it. Venal Flesh and their unreleased track “Calcination” could be
a well-working addition in the row of some Dark Electro-projects with
a modern twist in vain of VAC for example, while the rhythmic
Powernoise-specialist Endif unites with Retcon to present us an
unreleased re-recording of the Endif-track “Ashes”, originally
released on the debut “Meta” (2006 – Crunch Pod).
The
third disc pushes further the already discovered hard-edged TBM / EDM
sound with Soman or the second appearance of ESA, while mastermind
Jamie Blacker this times joins the ranks of Mika Groedrijk's rhythmic
Powernoise-project This Morn' Omina. Although signed to the German
ProNoize label, Neuroklast is a newcomer to me, founded by the both
German producers Kay SchÄfer (ex-Chainreactor) and Markus Horschig
(former ReAdjust). A bit more compositorial creativity can be
discovered by the UK-based musician and DJ, Matt Hart, who isn't
afraid to reanimate some classic Coldwave-like guitar-driven
structures on his exclusive remix of “To The Core”. Civil War on
the other hand would musically fit well to the row of prominent
old-school EBM veterans like Orange Sector or Pouppée Fabrikk –
but they are a promising newcomer out of Argentina. Back to Europe to
Manchester, UK, with another newcomer, Red-Meat providing us “angry
queer body music and sex positive energy”. Also worth a mention and
relatively comparable to the both predecessors is the Denver-based
electronic musician Fernando Altonaga and his EBM-outfit
eHpH.
More and more the music turns into Dark Synthpop with classic New
Wave-undertones with the contributions of Coldkill (a mutual project
by Rexx Arkana with
Eric
Eldredge of the NYC-based Futurepop-project Interface) with their
interpretation of Minitry's “We Believe”, and Dead Lights.
Disc
Four starts with the Munich-based Rue Oberkampf and their
80s-inspired minimal Synthpop outfit, while the Italian-based
Unconscious aka Andrea Riberti impresses with a hammering, classic
EBM-inspired tune entitled “You Belong To Me Now (Re-Edit)” -
another one of the previously unreleased tracks. Florida's Aeon
Rings, recording for Negative Gain Productions, offer a quite
different sounding tune turning towards into Synth- /
Electropop-regions with natural sounding male vocals. A pretty much
Dive-/The Klinik-inspired tune with its typically distorted rhythm-
and percussion work can be discovered by E.L.I., a project by Mike
Smith, who is a modular producer and DJ from Scotland.
To
conclude this review it should be mentioned, that Rexx Arkana did an
amazing job to collect as much as possible diversity in Electronic
music styles for this quadruple release. Additionally I tend to say
that the times, evolution and development of this music has continued
into stylistically wider and more complex forms and in uncountable
variations, than it has been during the days when”There Is No Time”
came out.
Finally
– maybe the most important reason to purchase this fine compiled
quadruple set - $5 from the direct sale of each CD compilation will
be donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis,
https://www.stjude.org/
Also: no download available – you
have to purchase the physical product.
Track
list:
CD
1:
1. A Split – Second –
Rigor Mortis
2.Covenant – Judge Of My
Domain
3.Absolute Body Control –
So Obvious (Live At E-Only Festival)
4.Curse Mackey –
Lacerations
5.DSTR – Disappear (1st
Draft)
6.Blind Vision ft. Leaether
Strip – DDF 2 (Album Version)
7.Lights Of Euphoria –Access
Denied
8.Armageddon Dildos –
Colder
9.Orange Sector – Blood
Brothers
10.Pouppée Fabrikk – Burn
Forever
11.Noisuf-X – Finish Him!
12.Fusspils 11 –
Fleischfresser (PS Edit)
13.Kevorkian Death Cycle –
Man Made
14.Fektion Fekler – Let's
Jump (Yes You Will Mix)
15.Rohn - Lederman ft.
Jean-Luc De Meyer – Where The Wild Roses Grow
CD 2:
1. Suicide Commando –Kill
All Humanity (Short & Painless)
2. Point5 – The Kid Is A G
3.FGFC820 – Crush (Letting
Go - Mix)
4.Inertia ft. Steve White
(KMFDM) – Scowl
5.Stoneburner
–Excrementorium
6.Stoppenberg –Soldat
7.Electronic Substance Abuse
– BBWO (Expel Mix 2022)
8.Cenotype – Hour 10 (Live
Action)
9.Discipline & Control –
Burning Up
10.Reichsfeind – Wish There
Was A Drug (Exclusive Mix)
11.Marred – The Fragrance
Of Blood
12.The Gothsicles – INFL8-R
(Resurexxion Mix)
13.Venal Flesh –
Calcination
14.Endif Vs. Retcon – Ashes
15.Kounter Mezhure – Golden
God
CD 3:
1. Soman – Divine (2022
Short Remix)
2.Moris Blak – Umbra
3.ESA vs. This Morn' Omina
–Consumption (Compounded)
4.Neuroklast – Scavengers
5.Her Noise Is Violence –
Djinn (Original Mix)
6.Matt Hart – To The Core
(Further Down Mix)
7.Civil Hate – Honor &
Dignidad
8.Red-Meat – Vore (Gordon
Young Mix)
9.eHpH – Rust
10.INVA//ID – The Sinner
11.Spankthenun – Crushing
Blow (Mirland Remix)
12.Coldkill – We Believe
13.Dead Lights –Ice Queen
(Club Mix)
14.Lola Kumtus – Wasted
Years
15.Hem Netjer – Connect
CD 4:
1.Rue Oberkampf – Never
Stop To Dance
2.Unconscious – You Belong
To Me Now (Re-edit)
3.Visitor – What World Is
This
4.Hammershøi – Hélas
(Remix By Coldkill)
5.One
Flesh.Infektion.–Martial Doom
6.XTR Human–City Hai
7.Aeon Rings –Lover
8.Dry_feel – Repellent
Machine
9.Soj – Pensamientos
Impuros
10.Black Light Odyssey –
Under Your Spell (Hexmaschine Vs. Blo Edit)
11.Sanderson & Esterhaus
– Composition 080621
12.E.L.I. – The Antagonist
13.Crying Skies – Around
The Walls Of Horror
14.Sigsaly – L'avenir
15.L – Discipline