Reviews
Spherical Disrupted - "Barriere"
Bad Alchemy, 56
Mit Barriere (auphcd006) greift Mirko Hentrich aka SPHERICAL DISRUPTED sein dystopisches Grau in Grau von Null (-> BA 48) wieder auf. Respektive lässt aufgreifen, denn er selbst steuert nur das minimalistische Bibbern und schlecht geölte Mahlen von ‚Beryllium‘ bei, die 10 sich anschließenden Tracks sind allesamt Remixe. ‚Leer‘ erklingt da in Versionen von 5F-X und Nerthus, ‚Kein‘ wird gleich dreifach variiert durch Heimstatt Yipotash, Telepherique und Zero Degree, ‚Projektor‘ wird abgewandelt von Mimetic und Carsten Vollmer. Dazu ertönt ‚Lakonisch‘ als Mandelbrot-Morphose und ‚Grau‘ in einer Version von Facies Deformis. Dem konsequenten Gedröhn von Null werden dabei, mal dramatisch orchestriert, mal wuseliger zappelnd, bei Mimetic, der erst immer wieder zurück spult, bevor die Drummachines in Gang kommen, getragen melodiös, bei Vollmer gabber-noisig, wieder Beine gemacht und das Blut in Wallung versetzt. Telepherique übersetzen ‚Kein‘ in ‚Keine Ruhe‘ und packen ihre ganze Erfahrung in eine 11-minütige Elegie der Moderne, ein Ringen des Automatischen mit dem Organischen. Verbreitet ist eine Phobie vor der Null. Da sind keine Heroischen Nihilisten am Werk, sondern Pathetiker und Dramatiker, die sich zwar in der Puls- und Schrittfrequenz unterscheiden, aber nicht in der Angst, dass Stille und Stillstand Tod bedeuten könnten. Daher Addition, Repetition, Regenesis. Bumbumbum ergo sum. Am wenigsten bei Nerthus, der die Leere nicht als träge Masse auffasst, die man als Sisyphos ins Rollen bringen muss, vielmehr als luftiges und flüchtiges Medium. Hentrich selbst bleibt es vorbehalten, als Schlusspunkt daran zu erinnern, dass er Null und ‚ - ‘ meint, wenn er 0 oder - sagt.
Spherical Disrupted - "Barriere"
Vital Weekly, #586
About two years ago we reviewed 'Null' by Spherical Disrupted (see Vital Weekly 482) and even when there has been no recent stuff, there is a new piece that gets the full ten track remix treatment. A lot of the remixers are new to me, like Heimstatt Yipotash, Zero Degree, Facies Deformis, Nerthus but then we also have Mimetic, Telepherique and Mandelbrot. I put this CD on and sat back to enjoy it. One of the striking things was that all of the remixers seemed to be working according some template: lots of heavy rhythms, distorted sounds and gritty synthesizers. I must be too unfamiliar with this kind of uptempo and aggressive IDM pattern, but there is a strong homogeneity throughout these pieces. It's not that they all sound too similar, it's just that they use similar built up and sounds, and each creates his own variation thereof. Sometimes a bit more industrial, then a bit more techno, things rock hard here, in a cold, clinical and mechanical manner. Although not entirely my kind of music, I must say it's sounded quite alright. (FdW)
Spherical Disrupted - "Barriere"
Connexion Bizarre
Dark ambient must not be rushed; you must take your time. Mirko Hentrich, the German artist known as Spherical Disrupted who is also part of the Audiophob team, clearly appreciates this. With the record label’s releases still running in the single figures after four or five years and the second full-length offering of Spherical Disrupted coming more than three years after the first, Hentrich operates at a slower pace than most. The important thing here of course is the quality over quantity factor, and the works of Spherical Disrupted and Audiophob prove this more than comfortably. The fact that “Barriere” is essentially an EP consisting of one long new track, together with ten remixes, would otherwise suggest the low productivity to be excessive, but such is the quality of artists lined up here that this minor complaint is soon forgotten. The vague and minimal artwork, grainy close-up shots of gravel, mud and rocks, follows on from the original album, “Null,” and gives a good flavour of what to expect: cold and minimal dark ambient with plenty of experimentalist work on found sounds and field recordings. The new track, “Beryllium,” opens with a subdued bass pulse overlaid with electronic crackles and pops, soon joined by a creeping and creaking sound as of old machinery slowly malfunctioning. This builds and deepens gradually, dense drones oppressing the listener while strange breathy or swishing noises in the background add to the nervousness. The track “Kein,” meaning “no” as in “not any,” is the most remixed track on the album, appearing three times in total. Heimstatt Yipotash add a subtle, syncopated beat to the ominous chord progression over a pop-friendly three minutes or so, whereas Telepherique offer a longer, brooding effort, with clattering metals leading to strange mechanical rhythms. Zero Degree’s version buzzes and throbs with an insistent beat and deep bassline, more like classic electro than ambient. “Leer” (“empty”) opens and closes the guest artists’ remixes; extraterrestrial weirdoes 5F-X effectively deliver a slow, heavy drum loop and high frequency tones over the original spacey synths, while Nerthus are more delicate, allowing ample room for the curious sounds to reverberate across the speakers. “Projektor” is also featured twice in this album, initially with Mimetic providing broken beats to drive the rising synths, but then Carsten Vollmer spoils the album with an utterly lazy piece of uselessness that sounds like the CD is skipping! Mandelbrot gives us a reduced length impression of “Lakonisch,” skilfully incorporating many of their own imaginative samples and treatments to create one of the most haunting moments on the album. The relatively unknown act Facies Deformis are the last of the guests, boosting the bass drones on “Grau” and pushing it in a powerful electronic direction. Finally, the album is closed with Spherical Disrupted’s own remix of “-”, a cheekily extended version of the original and a fitting ending to a very worthwhile compilation of reworkings. [7.5/10] – Nathan Clemence