When I found out that Artemiev and Frohmader were working together I wasn't surprised at all, it all made perfectly sense to me! Peter Frohmader is known for playing his guitars and basses over layers of keyboards, long lush synth chords and sequences but never throwing away the beat. This is what happened in this case too, but it sounds like the german composer has also added more keyboards, to those already laid down by his Russian companion, thus widening the rich sound palette that "TransFiguration" is based by and originated from. Considering that it took the couple almost an entire year to achieve this, it sounds like they never met and instead mailed each other the tracks some way until done. This is their second collaborative work (after "Space Icon", from two years ago). The five tracks are numbered and vary in length, ranging from a little over five minutes and a half to almost half an hour. Detailed and outlined beat structures and sytnh/synth-bass lines make for an easier approach to Artemiev's musical art. A pleasing experience that combines electronics, atmospherics, rock, ambient, fusion, experimental music and more, all nicely driven by rhythms and sound sequences. Considering how many genres converge in "TransFiguration" it is probably safer to just say that it represents a very good example of what electro-acoustic avant-garde, two terms often used to describe Electroshock releases, is or can be.

It is surprising how Artemiy Artemiev manages to release so many records and how many of them represent collaborations with artist he knows, respects or released music by in the past, like in the case of properly titled "57 Minutes to Silence", one of the latest collaboration albums on his Electroshock records (which by the way could very well have been released on Staalplaat), involving the great American composer Christopher De Laurenti and presenting you with eight tracks of claustrophobic experimental industrial "music". Definitely one of the most out of the ordinary and challenging of Artemiev's collaborations, these 57 minutes escape his usual style made up of a classical synthetic and analog synth sound library to bring you nightmarish deceptive repetitive loops, painful harsh noises, sharp and hi pitched whistling buzzes, cold stellar found sounds, random field recordings and more... Musical structures, in the common meaning of the word, are discarded, a new path is followed, randomness and noise seem to be dominating, but in the same way there is an order in chaos, there is one here too, plus it's definitely less extreme and more organized than some brutal Japanese noise we know so well. It is decidedly less of a musical record, but a very remarkable one indeed. Unpredictable noises, differing in source, frequency range, loudness make for an awfully dynamic tracklist where soundtracks for madness are interrupted by quite yet disquieting longer suites that take a dive into the cosmic dimension that seems to be the theme here, at least judging from the titles of the compositions. A special flower in the Electroshock garden for those who don't fear to dare to test their limits with some very interesting audio material.

This 2002 release of Butt Boy seems to have a general theme of fairie bondage. The first track "Walz of the Imps" is supposed to be an obscene night forest dance of imps. Given this you can easily see how the music fits this as it is visual music much like "Night of Bald Mountain" is. This album already shares certain trademark sounds like the usual 'ahs' found on previous albums and various purcussion instruments such as xylephone and various bells and woods. "Riding Centaurs" slowly builds a pace until you are virtually 'galloping' musically.
"The Ritual of the Whip" takes on a wholey different pace and atmosphere and seems a bit more suspenseful with some minor bit of bass beats. There is one sound that travels the speakers so that you feel it is passing or circling you. Tension slowly builds in this track as does the overall composition. The fourth track also begins at a much calmer pace but then builds into a bizarre combination of thumps and growls. It's interesting at the least.
Track five uses some interesting sounds to begin with and the composition is a bit unorthodox but the following bassline is very casio-box to me. The concepts behind the music display the artists creative thinking - unfortunately the synth sounds used detract from the overall sound of the compositions. The best part I like on this track is the nearly orchestrated sound it builds into.
Hmmm, Succubi on a gay man's album? Okay if you say so! Personally I feel this composition is too light and floating to fit the presence of the succubi. Also, the militant snares don't fit the atmosphere either. The concept is interesting, the music track is okay but the two do not seem to match in this case, at least not to me. I think the ritual dance of the Satyrs may be something this artist would more likely associate with and the musical composition tends to imply the same in that I can feel more passion of the artist put into this one. Personally I think this is the best composition on this particular release.
The only thing I can say to the artist is invest in some new equipment. The compositions and concepts are very interesting but sometimes get lost in the nearly 'video-game-like' sounds which many of the currently used synths for these compositions have. I also like the 'Conundrum' release better than this one as this one has too much of what I would consider standard 'factory' keyboard style, technique and sound to it.

First off the alias of the artist/composer Butt Boy is enough to make most straight men cringe. However the name is chosen simply because the artist writes music for what he calls "head-trip sex" and the composer is also an openly gay male in the BDSM, bondage, scene. First I'll say that personally I think a more tactful name should be chosen for this music project as the name itself drastically limits the audience and the music is not specifically something that only gay men or even fans of the bondage scene can enjoy. Of course the only reason I've ever heard of him is I use to live in Dallas Texas and while traversing local shops for fetish gear ran across his CDs which were described to me as a sort of cinematic industrial. I never did work up the nerve to bring a Butt Boy CD to the counter or even have one sitting around my massive CD collection as my friends would ask too many obvious questions. As silly as it is, and as confident in my own heterosexuality, I was 'afraid' to own a Butt Boy CD.
Well, now that I'm doing reviews and my curiosity was piqued, I was reminded of this music by my recent exposure to Robert Lloyd Anderson. Thus, I contacted Butt Boy in hopes of finally finding out what this was all about and maybe helping another independent artist further their musical success.
First off, the music is very interesting even though a bit simplistic at times. It reminds me of electronic New Age combined with a bit of Industrial and sometimes even Gothic influence. The first track is very airy sounding with lots of sampled choral 'ahs' and is very much like some early New Age I've heard though I can't place the artist now. Much like the music on those computer animation compilations set to music called "The Mind's Eye" series. The second track reminds me of a halloween album I've heard called "Music For Your Nightmare" which was all original compositions on synth. It has a feel of suspense and the sound of an early 1990's video game. The third track becomes a bit more dark and has a rather organ-like sound, like a gothic vampire playing dance music. I specifically like the bottle bells and deep 'ahs' here. Track four is very interesting and reminds me a bit of bands like Die Form and Chris & Cosey minus lyrics and a bit more light in texture. Track five has a deep 'umpa' sound that is interesting, almost carnival like but this would be a Killer Klown carnival. The final track, all nameless, is much more tempered and ambient in origin and ever so slightly reminds me of the general feel created by the works of Midnight Syndicate only a different style of music.
This album has some interesting beats, grooves, and atmospheres. It tends to be a bit simplistic and reminiscient of video game music at times. There is also a bit of an overuse of some sounds like bottle bells and 'ahs' are very often used - sounds that anyone with an inexpensive keyboard can easily concoct. At times the synths sound a bit outdated as well - sort of Casio-like. However, it sounds like the composer is simply doing the best he can with what is available and/or affordable and at that the compositions themselves can easily stand alone. Sometimes the unobtrusiveness and simplicity of the track simply lends more to the stimulated imagination making this music very likely quite suitable for it's purpose.
If the project name were changed to something for a more general audience and if the synth sounds are updated slightly this composer could easily gain a worthy amount of recognition. Overall it is not bad work and a worthy listen and I'd be curious to follow what he will do next.

Autodidact are (or were? This was recorded in 99-00 and issued last year) Rkf (guitars, effects, loops, editing) and The Ice Queen Esmeralda (beats 'n bass). "The blooming of one hundred shotguns" is a long journey through abstract but evocative atmospheres. Tracks are often composed of several movements, like mini suites. It's mostly effected guitar drones, which are very well orchestrated so that the result is an ever mutating, ominous sonic mass - psychedelic but often scary and grand. Sometimes the bass and programmed beats come in, giving a more rockin' backbone though mainly repeating the same riffs in a quite minimalistic way - it's like an ambient version of noise-wave, with some resemblance of bands like Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine or Jesus and Mary Chain. You have to approach the whole work with adequate mood and concentration, since tracks are very long and the structure based on repetition can put you off at a first listening - but it's a good cd of experimental guitar-based ambient.