Vatican Shadow - Kneel Before Religious Icons [Type Edition]

Dominick Fernow might be best known for his industrial incantations under the Prurient moniker, but in recent months his attention has shifted towards a different outlet. Fernow’s interest in electronic music (from the clamorous grind of Muslimgauze to the recently defunct Sandwell District imprint) has been well documented, and it comes to a frothy head with his Vatican Shadow project. Revolving around themes gleaned from Iraq war propaganda and yellowing stacks of newspaper clippings, the tracks on ‘Kneel Before Religious Icons’ are a perfect representation of Fernow’s modus operandi. Behind a wall of tape hiss, drum machine rhythms beat out memories of early Ministry and AFX while sickly FM synthesizer pads crawl and heave into the abyss. Like much of Fernow’s output prior to this, the emphasis is on society’s darker crevices, but Vatican Shadow is steeped in an alarming mystery and sulfuric smoke that is sure to surprise recent converts.

Porter Ricks - Biokinetics [Type]

Type mark their 100th release with a reissue of Porter Ricks' essential 'Biokinetics'. Back in 1996, dark ambient pioneer and sound designer Thomas Köner, together with engineer Andy Mellwig, presented the Techno community with one of it's most enduring and definitive albums in the form of 'Biokinetics'. It was the first album release on Basic Channel's Chain Reaction imprint, birthing three 12" singles which expanded and twisted the templates of Moritz Von Oswald and Mark Ernestus with an aquatic torque and unique vision, taking the sound to immersive, isolated depths previously unexplored to this degree. Womb-like systolic pulses plunge us fathoms into darkness penetrated by only the faintest trace of melody, its oceanic pressure profoundly meditative and transporting, reflecting the unimaginable vastness of space. But most importantly, 'Biokinetics' achieved what so many others tried but failed within this realm; managing to shape the infinite wave with an individual sense of narrative, one which will entrance a dancefloor and equally flood the senses of a home listener, dissolving the boundaries between club functionality and artistic experience.

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