DOUBLE REVIEW @VITALWEEKLY

Vital Weekly presented a double review in their Episode no. 1356 and I like it. Thanks so much! Podcast link to follow right after the review.

FRAGMENT KING - ANGEL POSITION (CD by Nexialist)
FRAGMENT KING - RETREAT (cassette by Annihilvs)

"In 2014 there was the MHz label run by Maurizio and Boris from Klangstabil, and one of the final releases was "Angel Position" by Fragment King. Hearing this album now, there are two questions that come to mind: 1) Isn't this too harsh to be on MHz, knowing Maurizio and Boris a bit? The answer is no. Because Klangstabil can do pure noise and the song-structured stuff they've become 'famous' with. As with Klangstabil, it's about crossing borders, incorporating different styles, and getting something out that shouldn't stay locked inside.
    Fragment King is Mark Kammerbauer, and this is his main project regarding music. He did things in the past with Leech from Navicon Torture Technologies and a collaboration with Z'ev. Listening to this CD, I have flashbacks from older Godflesh: And in a good way. While Klangstabil incorporated Electronic music with maybe some 'poppy' (read accessible) influences while maintaining a solid, highly experimental base, Fragment King might be called 'ROCK' in iTunes. Still, it should be considered an accessible version of Sludge / Drone Metal, Power Electronics, Industrial and a layer of Noise. So yes, it fits many different stickers/labels.
    This release seems exactly the same as the MHz one. The graphic design by Liis Roden follows the original tightly (or did she also do the original?). Nine tracks between roughly 6 and 10 minutes. The first seven all fit this earlier description. Track nine is a remix by Berlin-based Drum n Bass artist Bazooka who also mastered it, which leaves us track eight, "Kingdom". That would probably be my favourite; painful feedback combined with an orchestral score in the background and massive abuse of a bass guitar (I think) with at moments triggers the whole stasis of chaos. A great and, as said, painful piece. And that 2nd question that came to mind in the beginning, I really can't remember. Probably nothing essential, or I got sucked into the music that much.
    The cassette 'Retreat', sent to us in the same package, was released in august 2021 an Annihilvs Power Electronix; The label is from Lee (Leech / Theologian / Navicon Torture Technologies / etc.). A nicely packaged 5-track cassette with material Fragment King created between 2019 and 2021. The 'Recorded in Munich' reveals some extra info about Mark and why I read somewhere, he's a Bavarian American, which might explain the MHz connection.
    Five pieces that "... draw from digital beats and sounds, treated vocals and site-specific bass guitar feedback and drone sounds ..." Damn, that sort of describes my favourite track from the "Angel Position" album. The "Torch Song" has quite an aggressive approach and is in sync with the stuff on the CD. The other four tracks are more ambient/experimental. They are completely different yet 'in sync' with each other. The digital version comes with an extra Fragment King track and two remixes by 2W and SnowBeasts. And that 2W 'Labrat' remix ... Fuck, that's heavy. (BW)"

Vital Weekly

Vital Weekly podcast no. 1356



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CRITICAL VOID Maximiliansforum Z'EV + Fragment King

Image
Critical Void is an analytical audio work based on an urbanist study of the MaximiliansForum in Munich and its planning history. By employing interviews with key individuals and document research, Z‘EV, Alexandra von Bolz'n and Mark Kammerbauer developed a site-specific audio performance and work that was performed live on site on 24.07.2013. The project was curated by the Kulturreferat of the City of Munich. This is a step-by-step documentation of the project. The location that includes the MaximiliansForum art space can be found beneath the crossing of Maximilianstrasse and Altstadtring in Munich. It has escalators that are currently in disuse. It is denominated officially as pedestrian tunnel. It is by far the largest of its kind in the city. Rumor has that original planning intended a traffic tunnel. So, what happened here? On Wednesday, 24.07.2013 at 19:00 we performed CRITICAL VOID live after a very friendly introduction by Elisabeth Hartung of the Culture Offi...
Read more

THE NEW NEXIALIST TRI-HEAD LOGO

Image
The original Nexialist “Tri-Head” logo was developed in 2000. Its basis is the “Helvetica Man” symbol that was commissioned by the US Department of Transportation and produced by AIGA, the American Institute of Graphic Arts. It is oriented on previous works, such as the graphic design for the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. “Helvetica Man” is part of the original 1974 series of pictograms or symbols intended to communicate facilities and functions to the public. The symbols are copyright free and intended for public use. This was part of the motivation behind creating a logo for Nexialist – it was intended to be “un-copyrightable” and hence, universal. In difference to the original “Helvetica Man” the “Tri-Head” is broader in order to accommodate three heads, with one additional head to both sides of the original, central head. The three heads were intended to represent the three core interests of Nexialist: architecture, music, text. In 2022 the “Tri-Head” was re-imagined for the 25th anni...
Read more

2004-2024 ANATOMIC MUSIC

Image
Furnace Lodge (FK 25th Anniversary Edition) von Fragment King A special edition of ANATOMIC MUSIC celebrating the 20th anniversary of these recordings is available at Bandcamp. All selections written and produced by Fragment King / Mark Kammerbauer. All tracks were originally recorded in 2004 within the Anatomic Music sessions at White Furnace Lodge, including guitar/ bass guitar/ vocals and effect treatment, the "digiscrub" method of digitally deconstructing session material, and the "studio" approach to the various audio recording formats and media. Select tracks are previously unreleased. Original liner notes: anatomic music is a composition and recording project employing specific design strategies inherent in architectural design. for one, the origin of the compositions is an exploding singular moment in time unfolding itself outside its nontopological point of origin (the human brain) into the topological space surrounding any sound projection device. in...
Read more