Modelbau is the work of Frans de Waard, who has been involved in experimental music for very long time. You may also know him for his work with Beequeen, Kapotte Muziek, and others. Maybe you know him for his tireless work as the main force behind the long-running review site Vital Weekly. Or maybe it’s his recent book on Emil Beaulieau and RRRecords. Frans de Waard is a man of many talents. In this case, he is Modelbau, which the bandcamp page describes thus: “Started out in 2012, operating small electronics, shortwave radio, iPad synths, Walkman and whatever else.”

In this case, Modelbau uses source material from America’s favorite middle school teacher, Howard Stelzer, and describes the process on the label’s site: “I worked on a few things for a couple of evenings, and at one point, I was fed up with the umpteenth 'careful drone' bit. I never created a lot of noise as Modelbau, but why shouldn't I? Howard didn't pick much of the stuff from this particular recording, and it went into the archive, earmarked 'Howard session - noise' for further use. When thinking about doing something for Inner Demons, I returned to these recordings and did what Merzbow did on Scissors for Cutting Up Merzbow: layer these recordings and apply brutal cuts. Granted, Merzbow may have used real scissors, and my technology was all computer-based, but the idea remains the same: to create a collage of sound. I had to twist the word SCUM into it, Stelzer being Cut Up by Modelbau. SBCUBM doesn't seem to be a great title, and SCUM is. So, there you go, that's what this is all about.” Sounds like a good time, so let’s dive in.

There is a lot going on in this track. Modelbau kicks it off with some single channel R/L noise before completely unloading with both barrels with some "everything including the kitchen sink" noise. This is harsh and crunchy and fantastic. But then sometimes it shifts gears and becomes more droney and calm, but this is short lived, and the noise suddenly comes back in with full force. It is also important to note that if you are listening to this in headphones, to keep it at a reasonable volume because Modelbau has a penchant for suddenly blasting the volume just when you have settled in. Modelbau keeps everything blasting until the last minute where it fades into drone and rhythmic static. I kept waiting for the jump scare, but it never happened.

Overall, this is a good time and well done noise. Frans de Waard is a master of his craft and it shows in this disc. It also helps to have great source material to work with, and Stelzer is a great one to draw from. Well done, and well worth picking up. Like all Inner Demons releases, this is limited to 42 copies and weighs in at just over 20 minutes.