5am2k10: rEview5

"love u 4 ever"

 

"This is the 5th release from BentWithLight that I have had the provelesge of receiving in about a year, and it's like its predecessors, it's an eclectic combination of genres and musical elements... aprime example of today's independant artist doing what he wants...the industry be doomed.  Musical influences on this release include electronica, industrial, techno, experimental noise...the list is probably endless.  In addition to his music, Stevie also creates visual art with various materials...Pretty damn cool."

"The Version You've Never Seen" is a mix of DIY low-fi Industrial, Coldwave and Junk Punk. Formerly known as BentWithLight, Stevi7 from Ohio brings us his new project TVKill. Stevi7 has been creating music for 10 years now, experimenting with various forms of underground music. The same attitude exist with TVKill as it did with BentWithLight, which is to create Industrial music with noise layers, guitars and metallic percussion's. Using influences from bands like Ministry, Chemlab and Babyland, TVKill has accomplished quite a nice sound on this album. The vocals on the album remind me a lot of Skinny Puppy, especially on "Defeatist." I'm totally digging this gritty post-industrial sound that TVKill has been crafting for nearly a decade now. Stevi7 also records under the names Spine, TactilVision and Axess for those looking for more music from this artist. Recommended.

BLC's Interbreeding VI comp:The Alien Agenda


The next three tracks, all by Tactil Vision, are the real treat of this CD. “Escala” could easily be an ordinary dance track with its catchy beat and bass line, but with moments of ambience and some crazy-sounding samples fading in and out the mood of the song fluctuates, making it more interesting than one might ordinarily think. “Fleshtone” is even more abstract, with some intriguing textures of ambience and electronic blips not unlike those heard in IDM, but with some shuffling rhythms and arrangements which give the track a resemblance to Download. The same can be said for “Mass Transition,” which begins with some tame samples before a harsh but steady beat comes in with some chiming electronics fading in to give the track an ethereal quality.

*Note: this is a forum conversation with the moderator of Fabryka forum in which i 'hijacked' the thread into a short uncensored disclosure of philosophy and background...it was in reference to another post about the future of Industrial Rock.
-SVII



NINa:
I like the post somebody said that industrial rock comes from America and that's the only one real. I agree. American music is very 'rock' in some special way so is industrial rock and most of those bands which drew my attention come from the USA as well as the feedback given to the magazine too [Wink]

That was a side note. I've listened to your stuff on Myspace and it is very different in every song, here punk, there drum'n'bass etc. Rather an experimental attitude, isn't it?

SVII:
Oh yes, it was an experiment from the start, beginning in the noise genre. It shows my process? The stuff there is a broad range, different approaches. Maybe it's a selfish thing, maybe it's a loss of pretense! I don't know if this is a liability or an asset with all the music out there.? It seems with the global market and the internet people are more inclined to try to sort it out and put labels on everything with all the cross-breeding and pop music struggling to keep its empire. I suppose it is advantageous to stick to format, so it's easy for marketing sake...To an extent, I think that is the old way of doing things. A way of insulting people's intelligence. People know when they're getting fed a line i think. I'm not even thinking about that, which i should soon i suppose.
Early Industrial music flipped my whole perception of what i thought music was and i don't want to lose that. All in all, i have to stay true to the work at hand- being a vehicle for the muse instead of telling the muse what i want to see happen, which doesn't fulfill me anyway. I hope that listeners are becoming more open-minded rather than the opposite.
As far as any Rock I think maybe we have all been kinda brainwashed in the US, or it's the connection with folk music, the guitar being the main instrument. A lot of people won't bother with electronic music no matter how good it is. Thankfully, i haven't heard a lot of the EBM you're describing.
I have been through that "identity crisis" myself- you want to make good music that people will dig, but at the same time satisfy yourself. A guitar is a good song writing instrument. Unless you are trained on piano that may be the only way of getting away from all the programming and get back to basics.
Musically i like the process of making experimental electronic- a jazz-type attitude. But a part of me likes to develop songwriting. As my skills, sound improved i have gradually become more inclined to write songs, something that can move across different genres. I really don't even know how to label myself, i just use my influences to describe.
I can appreciate your thoughts on this- perhaps this is what managers and PR people are for. When everything is DIY, an artist can have a difficult time being in two places at once- one, in open creative mode and two, minding trends or commerce.
Thanks for listening!