LULL & BETA CLOUD

CIRCADIAN RHYTHM DISTURBANCE

  1/  Circadian Rhythm Disturbance               (Harris,Pace)                 20.08

          Created at the Box, Birmingham and ???
          Produced by Mick Harris and Beta Cloud

Mick Harris and Beta Cloud: all sounds.

          2008 - Laughing Bride Media (USA), LBM006 (3" CD)

REVIEWS :

This is a new release from Mick Harris, who is perhaps best known as the long-sitting drummer of the mighty Napalm Death. This is a very pure listening experience, far removed from the world of rock music, but still maintains the intensity and aesthetic of Mick Harris. Mostly based around a vibrating and fittingly lulling bass drone, the texture intersperses with metallic scrapes and otherworldly vibrations. This is released on one of those tiny 3 inch cd’s that will break your car CD player if you try to stick it in.

This disc opens with a very loud, high pitched noise, and this gradually gives way to strange background moans and otherworldly echoes. This is mostly an atmospheric release, and the twenty-minute duration gives plenty of time for the various elements of the track to unfold. The collaborative nature of this project gives it a wandering sort of vibe, but there is a steady mood that maintains itself. There is a very subtle percussive element that reflects a very subdued and steady aesthetic intent. This music seems to express a particular type of mood that is very dark and morose. It consists of many loops repeating over and over again, with industrial machinery hissing noises going off in the background.

The overall effect is somewhat akin to that of being at a particularly cinematic factory that produces an unknown substance. It should be known that this very brief release is just one of a multitude of projects featuring Mr. Harris, mostly that fall within the genre of drone and experimental noise. Even the earliest recordings by Napalm Death feature this influence, and the unsettling vibrations of this release present quite an unpleasant atmosphere. Of course, this is the point. Subtle and refined, the piece snakes you at the end with another high-pitched section after the previous section begins to sound rather pleasant. I felt that this release may have helped clean one of my ears out, in some small way. Recommended for fans of rhythmic noise and field recording style music. If you are a grind lover and willing to give something different a shot, it is very much worth your time. Cheers to Mr. Harris for sticking with his vision, this is quite a refined sonic sculpture.

Vargr Wulf (courtesy of the Heathen Harvest website)