Ohm Resistance
Submerged : Violence as First Nature -2cd- (US,2008)***°°
Submerged is the artist owner of the Ohm Resistance label. He played with Bill Laswell, John Zorn, Mike Patton and others. This compilation is of previous vinyl only material (which includes a remix by Scorn and Technical Itch, and a Bill Laswell produced track) and a full remix CD.
On the compilation album you can hear a more or less backwards in time evolution and ideas (2008-2002), of which the most recent tracks show the best feeling for drama, use of contemporary sounds (like Laibach used to sample Ligeti, remember) and with playstation/X-box game like dynamics. You feel that something is happening here, outside the melodic-rhythmic driven drum&bass and intelligent beats and patterns, also thanks to the produced mix, and the use of some mixed in voices and spoken word. There is “consciousness” involved indeed. Back in time however there also is occasional electropop (10) or more more normal drum&bass melodies and dance loops (9,10), rather uptempo moody.
The remix album starts with full aggression, an avant-moods collage with heavy beats, like with a “trance-aggressive” beat, (and with a short blink to the cursing words of hiphop), as an attack to the senses. Thoroughly some real powerful tracks and tensions build up, becoming overwhelming, but then you have to play it loud to give it that effect. It begins to work like a beat-you-up sonic soundtrack. If only a real dramatic soundtrack would have been involved as well this could have blown the listener completely away, although there are some filmic parts with such an association, but only occasionally. It remains a bit more abstract with some great effects. The starting point and ending however contain some more inhumane aggression, making this second sonic concept compilation not for the faint hearted.
