Review: Ron Lipke / Vox Mod / Kyle Porter – 'Giger: Erotomechanics (An Unauthorised Musical Tribute)'

RON LIPKE / VOX MOD / KYLE PORTER
'Giger: Erotomechanics (An Unauthorised Musical Tribute)'
UNSOUND AMERICA

The sad passing recently of the greatest surrealist of the second half of the 20^th century, H.R. Giger has seen an outpouring of tributes, both in pictures and writing. 'Giger: Erotomechanics' is the first musical tribute I've had the pleasure of being sent. Well perhaps pleasure is the wrong word here, because as you'd expect from a musical tribute to a man who's erotic biomechanical nightmares infected the mainstream collective consciousness... this is not pleasurable music.

The seven noise-laden soundscapes courtesy of the collaboration between The Waking Wounded's Ron Lipke, as well as Vox Mod and Kyle Porter would provide a perfect score to one of Giger's own film works or indeed his 'Art In Motion' video.

'Harkonen Castle', with it's echoing dron, sweeping synths and sci-fi static, evokes the image of the Nostromo floating through the emptiness of deep space as it approaches the unknown extra terrestrial vessel and it's internal horrors. While 'Biomechanoid' introduces some more industrial flavours, bringing to mind a demonic, modern Frankenstein's laboratory while some unseen hand labours tirelessly over engineered horrors. 'Passages' immediately introduces echoing, somewhat martial sounding distorted synths and beats that sound like a futuristic army massing in an ancient subterranean temple.

'Li' slowly builds into madness educing screams and roars of static distortion permeated by jagged strings before eventually receding to a simple, delicate melody. 'Birth Machine' again features the swirling distorted drones, but is joined by a central synth-line around which all the noise grows around, before grinding to a halt and erupting in a cacophony of anguished noise. 'Landscapes' blends quiet melody and loud noise, with loud melody and quiet noise as it unveils an Cyclopean city, long abandoned by it's technologically advanced builders and left to succumb to the strange flora and fauna before. The album closes with 'Necronom', a slowly building blend of drones, hanging distorted synths and choral voices that when brought together sound like a descent into the mouth of hell.

This album is a very fitting tribute that provides a perfect soundtrack to the books and videos of H.R. Giger. It is way to esoteric for general consumption and even connoisseurs of dark ambient and noise will find this particularly heavy going. But like Giger's art, this is not for the meek.  

Posted in: Giger: Erotomechanics (An Unauthorised Musical Tribute),H.R. Giger,kyle porter,music,ron lipke,unsound america,vox mod