THE NOISE OF SPACE

How and why did the Nexialist Organization come into existence? It may have started with my childhood in the US Tri-State Area, where my father managed a racing team for the Pocono, Indy 500 and Can-Am races, with the high-octane deep bass growl of the Porsche 917 as soundtrack. It may have started in my teenage years after relocating to Germany when I discovered all forms of underground music from Grindcore to Industrial. It may have started in my years as an architecture student when I discovered Iannis Xenakis and how to create sequences using a PC. It was a small step from tape experiments to DAT demos, from live sets to vinyl releases – under the alias of Fragment King. Moving to the US after my uni years came with a plan: record music and release it. The Nexialist Organization was born and the Halforganic Series came to life. Many collaborations took place during these years and continued when I returned to Germany. The music shifted into metallic realms by using electric and bas...

Since a share of my work is urbanism in its audible, acoustic dimension, here are some Mayday listening suggestions: CRITICAL VOID is an urbanist research project turned into a site specific sound performance with bass drones and percussion rhythmajik: CRITICAL VOID by Z'EV, Fragment King (M. Kammerbauer), Alexandra von Bolz'n WELL TEMPERED ROOM is a multi-track electroacoustic ambient recording as a dedicated sonic environment: Well Tempered Room by M. Kammerbauer THE NAVIDSON RECORD revisits the mysterious, endless house of Mark Z. Danielewski's novel "House of Leaves" as a IDM ambient drone soundtrack: The Navidson Record by M. Kammerbauer GENERATING SPACE contains IDM ambient drone explorations intended as the reverse-engineered acoustic phenomena of imaginary architecture: Generating Space by Torso LIVE AT SI is a live performance recorded in Brooklyn in 2001: Live At SI by Fragment King LIVE AT A2 was recorded live during the Architekturwoche ...

"Architecture as text, text as sound, sound as architecture." This principle defines the Nexialist Organization since its inception in the year 2000. To mark its 25th anniversary, WERKSHOW looks back at decades of transdisciplinary inquiry and sonic constructivism. WERKSHOW is a comprehensive archive that goes far beyond a standard "best-of" compilation—it is a sonic DNA analysis of more than a quarter-century of work. Inside the Vault: 100 Tracks & 10 Films This release is the definitive sonic and visual DNA code of the Nexialist Organization, documenting the evolution from human-machine synthesis to spatial analysis: Digital Edition: Features 30 curated tracks, including 10 exclusive "Anomalies". The Full WERKSHOW: The physical edition contains the complete archive of 90 audio tracks and 10 films in addition to the Digital Edition. Physical Archive: A custom night-black USB edition (strictly limited to 10 copies). Exclusive Art: Includes a custom art...

WERKSHOW: 25 Years of the Nexialist Organization – A Monumental Archive Release Spanning Universes! Architecture as text, text as sound, sound as architecture: This guiding principle has defined the Nexialist Organization since its inception in the year 2000. To mark our 25th anniversary, I am looking back at decades of transdisciplinary inquiry and sonic constructivism. With WERKSHOW, I am releasing a comprehensive archive that goes far beyond a best-of compilation—it is a sonic DNA analysis of more than a quarter-century of work. Inside the Vault (100 Tracks & 10 Films): This release bundles milestones that document the evolution from human-machine synthesis to spatial analysis: Full albums, including Angel Position: The "opus magnum" recorded under the Fragment King alias as a synthesis of lyrical defiance and conceptual critique; Generating Space: An experimental study in sonic architecture under the alias Torso, where digitally processed sound explores imaginary spat...

Working with Z'EV was key to the Nexialist Organization – aimed at creating projects at the intersection of architecture, music, and visual design through shared creative methods and theoretical inquiry. We collaborated on recordings and performances from our first meeting in 2005 until his passing in 2017. Marcelo Aguirre (Spastic Dementia, Evil Spirit, Æternum Sacro) was key to facilitating a collaboration between us. THE.BÄND initially featured Z’EV, Alexandra von Bolz’n, Marcelo and I, as Fragment King. The project combined percussion, bass, and voice into an extreme, physical form of metal-drone performance art. The Bänd emerged in 2008 from a collaboration between legendary percussionist and sound artist Z’EV, drummer Marcelo Aguirre,  vocalist Alexandra von Bolz’n, and bassist Fragment King. Their partnership began with a live performance in Berlin and developed into a long-distance creative exchange between Germany and England. Critical Void, Munich, 2013. photo: Andreas ...

Playing live with Z’EV was precisely what the Nexialist Organization set out to do – creating projects at the intersection of architecture, music, and visual design through shared creative methods and theoretical inquiry.  At Gallery Wallywoods in Berlin in 2008 an improvised performance took place uniting percussion legend Z’EV, Alexandra von Bolz’n, Marcelo Aguirre, and Fragment King in a visceral half-hour of physical sound energy.  On September 13, 2008, Nexialist members joined experimental percussion pioneer Z’EV for a live performance at Gallery Wallywoods in Berlin. The line-up featured Marcelo Aguirre (Evil Spirit, Spastic Dementia) on drums, Alexandra von Bolz’n on vocals, and Mark Kammerbauer (Fragment King) on treated bass guitar. The ensemble performed a single, thirty-minute piece of throbbing, droning intensity — a physical encounter between rhythm, noise, and space. Superfast grindcore percussion collided with detuned, slow-motion bass riffage, accompanied b...

While predating the founding of the Nexialist Organization, Fragment King represents its concept as a transdisciplinary platform connecting architecture, music, and visual design through shared creative methods and theoretical inquiry.  Fragment King is the musical persona of Mark Kammerbauer — a synthesis of human and mechanical sound, lyrical defiance, and conceptual critique developed through decades of evolving production and performance.   Fragment King is a fictitious persona created by Mark Kammerbauer for music production and live performance. FK’s work can be understood through three interwoven aspects: roots, methods, and aims. The roots trace back to the 1980s, influenced by early hip-hop, metal, and industrial pioneers such as Public Enemy, Big Black, and Godflesh. Their hybrid sound — a fusion of electronic and conventional instruments — reflected both the political dimension of noise and the cultural anxiety surrounding technology’s dehumanizing impact. Ic...

Fragment King recorded and mixed ANGEL POSITION between 2007 and 2012. Bazooka mastered the recordings in 2012 for the 2014 original album release on MHz. In 2022 the album was released in a Fragment King 25th Anniversary Special Edition with completely new artwork and packaging created by Liis Roden. Both releases garnered reviews that are collected in the following. They include praise and are not without surprises. Vito Camarretta,  CHAIN D.L.K.: "It's the first time I personally listened to a full-length by Fragment King, the harsh brainchild by Mark Kammerbauer, out of his personal imprint Nexialist, and even if some features of his style, which combines ferociously hammered breakcore patterns with armour-piercing dark-industrial sonorities and some listenable sludge-metal and power electronics marks as well as sensibly vitriolic lyrics, is somehow recognasible, the sonic architecture sounds less naff than some past releases. Both its musical language and lyrics are defin...

In 2021 the Fragment King recording titled RETREAT was released by Annihilvs Power Electronix, the label of Theologian mastermind Lee Bartow. It comprises multiple tracks in tape cassette format plus additional digital exclusive remixes by Snowbeasts and 2W (Thierry Arnal). What did reviewers have to say about RETREAT?   Sean Reveron, CVLT NATION: "Unholy hell yes this is some dubbed out dirge that will make hairs on your neck stand up! I can’t get enough of the FRAGMENT KING project because it’s that RAD!" Roland Torres, SILENCE AND SOUND: "All in tense minimalism, FRAGMENT KING alias Mark Kammerbauer floods the space of guitar notes crawling on porous surfaces, impregnated with industrial engines. RETREAT is not without evoking the universe of Godflesh in delightful mode, flagging on piles of pointillist notes supported by spectral rhythms with mechanical consistency. FRAGMENT KING develops an underground world with abstract hallucinations, bending under the weight o...

Since I wear a cap with the Nexialist Octomeron and people asked me what it is about, it's my turn here to elaborate. The Nexialist Octomeron is a geometrical shape with eight corners. It was developed as a graphic symbol in the course of the ANGEL POSITION album project. Its origin is a photo of a building in the Dutch city of Almere. The moment I saw the Woontoren Silverline residential tower by Claus en Kaan Architecten in 2006, I knew it would be relevant to me at some point in the future. In 2007 I began writing and recording songs for what later became the ANGEL POSITION album produced for my music alias, Fragment King. The planned CD release of the album with MHz Records required illustrations, and one particular inspiration was soon found in the BLEACH anime. In one episode, Gin Ichimaru releases his Zanpakutō and, in follow his Bankai form, Kamishini no Yari. It cuts through the surrounding city with such force that the severed parts are lifted from the structures that su...

I just found out there are still tapes available with our 2011 recording "The Garden", a nearly 20 minute track we released under the name "The.Bänd". They can be ordered through the Z'EV online archive. Percussion, Arrangement, Lyrics: Stefan Joel Weisser / Z'EV Vocals: Alexandra Von Bolz´n Bass, Synthesizers: Mark Kammerbauer / Fragment King   Link: https://www.thezevarchive.com/ Bandcamp digital version: https://zevalexandravonbolznfragmentking.bandcamp.com/    

This post simply sums up many of the Fragment King media sites and those featuring associated projects and Nexialist Operations: Fragment King at Bandcamp: https://fragmentking.bandcamp.com/ Fragment King compilations and collaborations at Bandcamp: https://nexialist.bandcamp.com/ Cooperation with Z'EV at Bandcamp: https://zevalexandravonbolznfragmentking.bandcamp.com/ Fragment King and Nexialist Operations at Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/ Alternative video channel at Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/nexialist/videos Fragment King entry at Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/artist/14856-Fragment-King

Above Us (FK 25th Anniversary Edition) von Fragment King "Rot" was recorded in Berlin sometime between 2008 and 2010 within the "Angel Position"-sessions. While the track wasn't part of the "Angel Position" album (mastered by maverick hardcore drum n bass and dubstep producer Bazooka, released on MHz in 2014 and re-released in a special edition in 2022 with graphics by Liis Roden), it was part of the "Here Music Dies" cassette release on Annihilvs, which was a mirror image of sorts of "Angel Position" by including alternate recordings from that session. "Rot" is inspired by the incredible Anime series "Bleach" and, in particular, by one of main character Ichigo Kurosaki's adversaries, the Arrancar by the (equally incredible) name of Barragan Luisenbarn, or バラガン・ルイゼンバーン in the Japanese original. His "battle cry", so to speak, is "ROT!" There you go.   Bazooka @Bandcamp Liis Roden @Liisroden...

The Cellmaker's Sinister Jazz von Fragment King Sometime in the 90s one of my architecture-co-students happened to work in a local record store. We would talk about music and literature more than about architecture. Eventually he suggested I pick up Flann O'Brien's "Third Policeman". Today I'm not quite sure how this came about, perhaps we were talking about David Lynch or renowned Irish authors, who knows. Ah, now I remember. The thing was that a house played a role in the novel, and in-between the walls of the house was an entire other "hidden" house. In the 2000s, when I recorded this track, the title became an inspiration. The track itself is a structure continuously unfolding in time in a manner similar to O'Brien's mysterious house unfolding in space in impossible ways.

Halforganic Theory (FK 25th Anniversary Edition) von Fragment King   Inhuman is one banging smasher of a track I recorded (dramatic voice) "In The Year 2000"! Influenced by tech step drum n bass, as it was called in the day, particularly of the No-U-Turn label variety and their luminary Ed Rush, I managed to have my AKAI sampler bang those beats while the sequencing in combination with my synth collection at the time yielded some excitingly noisy results. The title itself is inspired by none other than the uncanny INHUMANS of Marvel Comics fame. I first read a story with them in one of the giant sized Marvel Treasury Editions where they battled the Incredible Hulk. The recording is a fitting soundtrack to the comic book.

Live At SI von Fragment King This track is special to me in a number of ways. Black Iron Prison was only played live, since it is the superimposition of the sequencing parts of two independent tracks. There is no "original" studio recording version. It was exclusively released on the LIVE AT SI tape cassette issued by Nexialist in 2001 in the "Halforganic" series. Live, it turned into a juggernaut that paved the way towards the angry metal noise machine that Fragment King would soon become. And then, the title ... it is, of course, a reference to Philip K. Dick and his novel VALIS. Dick writes about the idea of the Black Iron Prison in a way that resonated with me as a reader. The feeling of being caged in is a powerful and pervasive one – the superimposition of multiple forms of incarceration of the mind and the soul – and music seems to be the only force that can liberate one from this feeling. Dick states: "Once, in a cheap science fiction novel, [Horselover...

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 colla...

Review time again! Side-Line Reviews listened to RETREAT by Fragment King, released as a cassette and digital package by Annihilvs Power Electronix . Here is what they say: Fragment King – Retreat (Album – Annihilvs Power Electronix ) Genre/Influences: Industrial, Experimental. Format: Digital, Cassette. Background/Info: Mark Kammerbauer released this new opus last year. “Retreat” features seven songs plus one remix. Content: “Retreat” gets us back to the early days of Industrial/Experimental music. Next to the 80s influences the work also features very personal input; kind of inhibited, intimate atmosphere. The work has been composed by guitar playing manipulated into Industrial sound effects with menacing sound atmospheres on top. Vocal parts accentuate a cellar-like sensation. The last song is a remix by Snowbeasts which sounds pretty different, exploring Electro-Minimalism. + + + : This album evokes to me good-old souvenirs. I got the feeling of awakening in the 80s when ...

Any day is a good day to remember Z'EV, percussionist, poet, artist. He was born as Stephan Joel Weisser and passed away in 2017. He continues to be a formative and seminal sound artist of Industrial Culture. Z'EV is widely recognized for his experimental percussion performances and recordings. His CDs were released on labels such as Cold Spring, Soleilmoon, Tzadik or Subterranean. He avidly worked together with numerous artists, performing and recording across the globe. "The foundation of my work, regardless of genre, is process." (www.rhythmajik.com) Z'EV and I first met in 2005 at a festival in Prague. After our respective gigs we spent the evening sitting next to each other and talking. In 2008 we met again in Berlin. After his festival show he announced that he, Marcelo Aguire and I would perform together. And so it happened. The three of us together with vocalist Alexandra von Bolz'n played at Gallery Wallywoods. We continued to work together afterwards...

On the occasion of the the 25th anniversary of Fragment King, Nexialist is releasing three special compilations spanning recordings created and released between 1997 and 2014. In 1997, Fragment King recorded the "Demo That Exploded" and the adventure in speculative audible environments began. Above Us (FK 25th Anniversary Edition) features recordings written and produced during 2007 and 2010 within the Angel Position sessions in Weimar and Berlin. Furnace Lodge (FK 25th Anniversary Edition) includes tracks created during 2002 and 2007 predominantly within the Pathomechanical, Anatomic Music and Grey Album sessions in Ridgewood/USA, Weimar/Germany and Berlin/Germany. These three sessions strongly characterize the material produced in their context, by including guitar/ bass guitar/ vocals and effect treatment, the "digiscrub"-method of digitally deconstructing session material, and the coherent "studio"-approach to the various audio recording formats and...