Opera Mort – “Dedales” – [Alter]

Thurston Hunger   7/9/2014   12-inch, A Library

French siamese twins, Jo Tanz and Laurent Gerard,
joined at the data cable. Deliver an interesting
mix of experimental and exploring electronics. If
Dedales is their inspiration, they flew not to
close to the sun, but to the motherboard. Heat sink
cool blips, klicks, waves, ghost drones and mechanical
mechanizations. Distored voices from their remnant
human forms bleed through, dig the quasi robot/Robert
Ashley on “Baillon Rose” (that sort of internal
whisper voice, before the slippermen join in and
wobble with worried voices). “Les Spirales Messmer”
features one of the gents singing like a drunk
astronaut! This is definitely not a glitch release,
more like digital ping-pong on a lot of the pieces.
The electronics often have an eerie pretty feel,
sci fi homemade Doctor Who designs like elegant
spaceships of yore. “Mille Viviers” stars with a
tiny cilia ear alarm and then the toy police cars
come. Busted! The opening and closing tracks are
the most droney, but other pieces are more rambunctious
with non-dance rhythms, and waves that are icy, but
not cold-wave. It’s a great album that is *not* a
lot of things, but a confounding find. The duo
used to record as Reines D’Angleterre, KFJC has those
two ruling releases. Vive l’Morte! (and sadly RIP
Bimbo Tower who released the first O.M. action).

-Thurston Hunger