Phillip B. Klingler, otherwise known as PBK, has been kicking around the experimental scene for a long, long time. As such, I was familiar with him and his work. I was less familiar with Modelbau under that name, other than being on some of the same compilations with him (the excellent “Homework” series by ta'lem) but I think we are all familiar with Frans de Waard’s work under his many other monikers and collaborations (Beequeen and Kapotte Muziek especially), as well as his tireless reviewing in Vital Weekly.

The name of this collaboration is called “The Dead Time,” and tracks titled “Potentially,” “Fatal,” “Bullet,” “Deeper,” “Knife,” and “Wound” would seem to provide some sense of what we are in for. However, this doesn't really seem borne out by the music, and thankfully so, because the whole serial killer thing just doesn't really float my boat (unlike many people in the power electronics scene). Instead, we are treated to an excellent collaboration that has the feeling of what James Keeler of Wilt calls “dark noise.” This isn't harsh noise; rather, this is industrial in the mechanical sense of the word. There's synth drone and melody, but this is also punctuated by scraping noise and feedback. The overall feeling of the album is rather satisfying and belies its grim theme. In short, this is solid work that would be right at home in a dystopian soundtrack. Well worth picking up.