The Machinist

From the Machinist:

"New vinyl (also available in digital form), is a split-single. Already familiar to you the Chicago experimental electronic project FluiD and a new hearing for the group John 3:16. Consisting of grim, instrumental music, which has elements of dark ambient, psychedelic, dubstep, classical avant-garde, early industrial , hip-hop, etc. The assembly and stylistic concept of the disc material does not interfere with 'The Pursuit Of Salvation' being moderately tuneful and enigmatic. I was in this case attracted the most to the cold and desolate song from the telling title "Plague", which sounds of a dull body combined with viscous, creeping post-industrial hip-hop beats, as well as the number 'God Is Light' and precise rhythmic thing 'Forewarning', frightened human whispers, sighs strange, some kind of mystery and thriller-wave-like motions in the air.

In general it may be noted that the FluiD and his colleague make good music. Only this time, too small a portion thereof. Do not have time to really dive into the single material, as it ends."

[6 points]

http://www.machinistmusic.net/reviews/fluidep2012.html



 

The Burning of Icarus and the March Towards Concord

 
French magazine, Obskure posted a review of 'FluiD / John 3:16 - The Pursuit of Salvation' (ALRN024 / VL001).
The original review is in French, below is the English translation:


"... Alrealon Musique continues its' initiative of collaborative works between its' artists which started with the remarkable compilation 'Alrealon Musique presents: Tomorrow’s Universe' (ALRN016). This time, FluiD and John 3:16 dialogue in a split-EP which echoes the motivating experience of the digital single 'Guardian'. 

Troubling ambient lines carried by a Reznor-like piano, insistent volutes of guitar, anaemic rhythmic canvases, combine to produce an aesthetics of the fall, which thrills the listener. The wings on the cover (a Trey Crim design) evokes a blazing Icarus, who would only be saved by burning himself. The titles of the tracks invoke this same mystical symbolic system, between angels, god, light and Red Sea, the rare voices being reduced to vibrating whispers (Forewarning). When the atmosphere is getting heavier (Plague), the mix focuses on, with fewer echoes, along with the intrusion of an emancipating synth. 

John 3:16 announces with his two 6-minute-long tracks, noisy guitars that would evolve in the highest spheres of Zen. The evolution towards concord appears unquestionable..."

Many thanks to Sylvain of Obskure Magazine for publishing the review

Listen, Purchase, Download...

Forewarning, new track posted to Soundcloud

"...Forewarning merges rickety accelerated beats and a female voice in the middle of demonic sounds." (Bad Alchemy Magazine, 2012).

Read more of German magazine Bad Alchemy's review of 'The Pursuit of Salvation', here



Forewarning is available on the Alrealon Musique release,
'FluiD / John 3:16 - The Pursuit of Salvation' (ALRN024/VL001).

You can purchase, 'The Pursuit of Salvation', here

"...their souls are worlds apart..."

Webzine, Damned By Light, has published a review of  'FluiD / John 3:16 - The Pursuit of Salvation'.

Below is an excerpt from the review:

"...Often when you get your filthy hands upon a split release, you never quite know how far apart the split world lay. Specially in cases such as this when it’s first contact to the bands at hand.
Both FluiD and John 3:16 could be said to represent a sort of abstract industrial music and while they share similarities in sound, their souls are worlds apart..."

Read the review in full, here.

Many thanks to Damned By Light for reviewing, 'The Pursuit of Salvation'!

"... one heavenly and one hellish"

From German magazine, Bad Alchemy:

"...Christophe Gilmore, the Alrealon Musique artist based in Chicago, describes himself explicitly as an "Afro-Futurist". As an African-American Creole, splitting and double coding are familiar to him as are smooth transitions. FluiD follows the path of subduxtion, using jazz-rock as well as dub, trip-hop and illbient. This politically conscious and generally committed artist performs in the first part of 'The Pursuit of Salvation' (ALRN024), a 12" vinyl split with Alrealon Musique founder Philippe Gerber, known here as the apostolic John 3:16.

With 'Disrupting the Ghost', from his Alrealon Musique debut album 'Envisioning Abstraction: The Duality of FluiD' (ALRN008), the artist had already demonstrated, through his arabesque vocal samples over creaking minimal beats, his congeniality of spirit with Techno Animal, Scorn, Muslimgauze. As a counter argument to the alleged culture-clash, he can dance a universal hybrid, under whose feet all contradictions disappear into the Dub-floor. It seems that they are just nightmares, but what do we mean by "just"?

Your ghosts and fears are real, that is what FluiD seems to suggest with the menacing 'Angels pt. II'. The angels are no cute guardians but sinister bouncers of God's mills, slow in motion but undeniably following their course. Here, the angel choir only sings timid "Ah" and "Oh", while being beaten up and crushed. Plague reinforces the apocalyptic undertone with train gears, slow beats, whisper ”ish” singing and Day of Wrath organ. Forewarning merges rickety accelerated beats and a female voice in the middle of demonic sounds.

In a similar way, John 3:16 storms in with 'God Is Light' in which he approaches the Light with determined steps. Harmonic and sublime waves of guitars blend with sombre drum beats and launch the attack in a war cry. Toward The Red Sea is at once warlike and a grim elegy, as if Light could be the reason for a military campaign. It's as if we were marching in this infernal din in the army of Pharaoh towards our fall and keep on doing it in the underworld.

Whom or what to believe in, in order not to perish? Who are the 'Good'? The cover waves to us with its' angel wings: one heavenly and one hellish."

[BA 72 rbd]

Purchase: FluiD / John 3:16 - The Pursuit of Salvation (ALRN024),  here

Dark Occult review of 'FluiD / John 3:16 - The Pursuit of Salvation' (ALRN024)

 

Turkish blog, Dark Occult recently posted a review of my split release with John 3:16,

'The Pursuit of Salvation' (ALRN024). 

Below is the review in full:

 

"First of all, I believe the music itself tells. I was planning to write a long review about this amazing split album. But then I said, no need to do this! İf you want to understand the writers like Kafka, Sartre, Tolstoy, George Orwell etc., and if you want to understand Bible, Qur'an etc. you must read. How can I tell you about paintings by Caravaggio, if you don't want to see them?

John 3:16 is a high quality electronic musician. He's works really impressive. 'God is Light' amazing track. FluiD...Hey wait a minute what I wrote above? " 

FluiD / John 3:16 - The Pursuit of Salvation is available via Alrealon Musique here

Kulturterrorismus review of 'FluiD / John 3:16 - The Pursuit of Salvation'

Splits, which are a concept, like 'The Pursuit of Salvation' from John 3:16 & FluiD, where the US-Swiss duo picks up the coming apocalypse, are rarely or not on the market. I'm noting only the peculiarity of this work, whose atmospheres, creators and consumers are experimental.

Originally started in England and now based in Switzerland, France and the U.S., Alrealon Musique developed within the scene a starting point for experimental sound art, where names such as Black Saturn, FluiD, John 3:16, PAS and Zilmrah dominate the back catalog. In itself, 'The Pursuit of Salvation' 12" (limited to 300 copies), appears perfectly integrated.

All wait 2012 (?) the impending apocalypse, including FluiD & John 3:16, referring to 'The Pursuit of Salvation' in general but probably with a current reference to approach the topic, which they do briefly (Maxi LP close to 15 minutes of playing time per side). Making it very compelling with their industrial, trip-hop and dub styles (FluiD); organic, ambient and noise (including drone) (John 3:16). It's remarkable the guys in this short-time frame are able to produce atmospheres that entrain. The structures on both sides totally put you under a spell, clap your hands in the end, a formidable soundtrack for a short film that suggests the end of the world, we probably escaped once more.

Conclusion: FluiD and John 3:16, take on 'The Pursuit of Salvation' under the banner of "brevity is the soul of wit", reveals impressively - my absolute recommendation!

PS: How many artists in 70 minutes never come to their point, FluiD & John 3:16 crush their listeners several times in 30 minutes!

http://kulturterrorismus.de/rezensionen/fluid-john-316-the-pursuit-of-salvation.html

Stream: (ALRN024) FluiD / John 3:16 - The Pursuit of Salvation

Terapija.net review of 'FluiD / John 3:16 - The Pursuit of Salvation'

Chris Gilmore, experimental electronic musician from Chicago, perhaps better known (to some) under the pseudonym, FluiD; which he has used since 1988 when he released his debut 12" single 'Warhol'. On his albums and his songs, he delivers a mix of psychedelia, noise, jazz, dub, ambient, industrial and other imaginable and unimaginable musical genres. After last year's well received album 'Envisioning Abstraction: The Duality of FluiD' and in collaboration with a colleague from the label, has decided to release a split 12'' on which he has three new songs on the A side.

Angels Pt. II continues Bowie's theme from the movie 'Cat People'. With the same or similar repetitive sequence, and each time you listen, I expect you will start to sing "and I've been putting out fire with gasoline". Plague is a dark, epic theme that will leave you with a tingling feeling, all over your body. Forewarning is an electronic experiment, which reminded me of a long forgotten Goldie.

John 3:16 is a Swiss experimental electronic musician. He has recently released a mini album. Two songs that did not fit on that mini-album stretch across one side of this EP. Repetitive elements are generated by electronic devices and sampled. During the entire twelve minutes of songs, he introduces us into a special world. So, 'God is Light' is slowly evolving into explosions that occur before the end of the song, whilst a choir singing, leads us 'Toward the Red Sea' making a song which is favored and exalted.

This record is definitely not for everyone but anyone who possesses it or will possess it, will like and appreciate it.

score album [1-10]: 8

Phil / / 25/02/2012
http://terapija.net/mjuzik.asp?ID=13331

FluiD / John 3:16 - The Pursuit of Salvation... now available for pre-order

  

 

FluiD / John 3:16 - The Pursuit of Salvation (ALRN024/ALRN-VL001),

is now available for pre-ordering.

All pre-orders come with a limited edition poster of the artwork,

signed by the artist, Trey Crim.

To pre-order, 'The Pursuit of Salvation', click here

FluiD / John 3:16 - Guardian (free download)

Download two new tracks from myself and John 3:16. Our new single, 'Guardian' is now available as a free download via Bandcamp.

Vox Empirea review of Duality

Italian webzine Vox Empirea recently posted a review of my CD, 'Duality'.

An excerpt from the review:

"... Music that, as suggested by the same FluiD, is perfectly suited to situations and themed environments like modern art galleries, avant-garde art exhibitions and alternative clubs, making 'Envisioning Abstraction: The Duality Of FluiD' and its complex and diverse structure, a sort of restyling of the traditional concept dub, formulating around it an ingenious databank of sounds psycholeptics and not easy to decryption relazioneranno that virtually the ideal listener, that he who possesses the ability to transcend the conventional testing new, futuristic microcosms trip from opiate. With this disc you will pass with surprising ease the fine line between the tangible and incorporeal..." 

 You can read the full review here

A very special thanks to Max @ Vox Empirea for writing such an insightful and detailed review...

Final Artwork for, 'The Pursuit of Salvation' (ALRN024)

Front Cover

Back Cover

Label artwork for FluiD side

Label artwork for John 3:16 side

All artwork by Trey Crim (p) (c) 2012

Release info - http://www.alrealon.co.uk/alrn024.html

Test Pressings of FluiD / John 3:16 - The Pursuit of Salvation

 

Test pressings of ‘The Pursuit of Salvation’ (ALRN024);

my forthcoming split release with John 3:16 on Alrealon Musique.

Release info - http://www.alrealon.co.uk/alrn024.html

Release date March 19, 2012.

The Pursuit of Salvation

FluiD/John 3:16 - The Pursuit of Salvation (ALRN024),

coming: Mar. 19, 2012 on Alrealon Musique...

For more info - http://www.alrealon.co.uk/alrn024.html

New Review of Duality

"... An American one-man band backed by more than two decades of work emerges with a dark trip-hop album that is equally varied, and shows the relations between industrial, ambient, drone/doom metal, psychedelia and electronics.

 Behind this name stands the one-man project of dark-skinned hip-hop DJ Christophe Gilmore from Chicago whose his first album 'Warhol' was released in 1988. Also, a great activist, calling himself an 'afro-futurist' and he has a whole series of performances at various festivals, charities, and is best known for his work on the soundtrack of 'The Gift Project Chicago' (together with very similar activists like Rebecca Zorach, Leslie Wilson, Kimberly Pindera , Patric McCoy and Samantha Hill). All of them have in common, although dealing with completely different activities (photography, sculpture, literature, critical theory, interdisciplinary arts) an association with the so-called, African-American diaspora to realize their activist collaborations.

While FluiD is totally unknown by his discography, he has been operating for more than two decades, it is quite messy and no one has so far put it in a chronological order. Most often mentioned as a remixer and collaborator with Ganymede, Fr/action, Heat From A Deadstar, Blood Into Water, One Dead Fuck, Worms of the Earth, DisinVectant, Black Saturn, Selbst-Morder, Finger Painted Dead and John 3:16. He also spent time in the industrial-gothic rock band Die My Darling, where he was a keyboard player and programmer. He was also a member of several bands where he played synth/keyboards and bass guitar - DOD, Wardrobe Cathedral, Immaculate Corrosion and Drug Of Choice. We also mention that there was a few years of primary music school, he began to play in the 6th year. He also studied orchestration of classical and jazz music and plays clarinet, saxophone, piano, flute and oboe.

 On this album, which he recorded in 2010, and was officially released in early 2011, on the Swiss label Alrealon Musique, is very similar to the sound sphere around the likes of Dalek and Massive Attack. Although, several compositions stand out from the trip-hop/hip-hop standards, drawing in new areas of post-industrial along with his indigenous hip-hop, corresponds to the trees of metal, jazz, psychedelia, avant-garde, electronica, noise.

When I first listened to this album without any knowledge of the biography of FluiD, all at once I thought that it was a band that's somewhere around The Young Gods, at least in the opening composition, 'DH-1'. Sluggish industrial, sampled bass, plenty of cacophonic intervals with different frequency breaks are arranged in a very harmonious instrumental. To me that all these sounds might be a full band: hear the bass, guitar noise works, and the echo of some ancient junk synths continues with a piano in the next section of 'AIC', that does not run away from Massive Attack. Keyboard harmonies, relaxed pace trip/hip-hop refers to a competent author who skillfully handled the pop format, shaping them into a very dark atmosphere. There are no vocals (maybe a minus for such skilled grades), except for 'Iron Communiqué' which has as a guest on the mic a certain Black Saturn. Revealing a very good casserole of hip-hop, storytelling and polumelodičnog vocalists, referring to his style. With an increased atmospheric industrial apocalyptic noise-gothic and whose low-tuned guitar riffs are most suitable to black-metal/drone standards. While the only sung track, the previously released 'Disrupting the Ghost' has a dark mood, moving through a psychedelic hybrid of electronic trip-hop and world music, while continuing the detachment of an instrumental album (only here and there dotted with some vocal samples) although woven very creatively, giving the impression of a dark lethargy in which apart from the occasional experiment, lack a full insight into the overall plot. For example, ambient post-industrial 'Refuge' and 'Sublimation In the Zero Hour', acting as a fraction of the concept. Froz n II is again in the manner of industrial with the added effect of dissonant drone/doom metal, while 'Dread Futures', 'The Absent Present' and the ending 'Parallel States' obviously show some evidenence of ambient, besides the classic dub, vocal and experimental samples of allocation is not appropriate for anything but harmonious filing of space.

Is that the big problem of today's minimalist trip-hop scene? Is it more or less roughly similar to what Tricky said ten years ago, "that I did something like this at the time of be-bop and jazz, 50's, my music would be the usual crap" . However, it is obvious that all the criteria of the pop scene (whatever that is) substantially leveled at such semi-sampled/semi-played music it has to be considered an artform. Being a DJ and musician as well, FluiD is still not at all difficult (remember only Thievery Corporation). Surprisingly an artist, who is already as his biography says, a trained musician, his own knowledge and skill is here presented through a minor and very poor, already worn and battered form. Still, not as important a factor as the fact that FluiD identified with those who have far less talent and knowledge..."

Album Score (1-10): 7
Horvi 11.12.28

Darkroom Magazine

Italian magazine Darkroom, recently published a review of 'Duality'.

You can view/read the original Italian version here -
http://www.darkroom-magazine.it/ita/107/Recensione.php?r=2223

Below is the English translation

"...Beginning in 2007 with the 'Noise In the Neurons' EP, five tracks released in digital format, this year has finally welcomed the expected second round. Throw in a cover that has clear messages with intelligence, for those who know / want to take it. Spread out over ten tracks is a good mix of trip-hop, funk, downtempo, electronic exotica that is broad and varied, embracing a variety of stylistic currents. In the new release, cards are shuffled with wit to create an even more successful and credible experiment of crossover between genres. Without doubt, the massive, sinuous basslines push the whole sound of great penetration into dub territories, where the pace of the movements, enveloping and sophisticated trip-hop/downtempo, including shades of IDM/industrial and scratches, while touching on guitar of course - sometimes deliberately awkward and disturbing, but necessary to capture the feelings and needed to complete the wall of sound - to make the roughness of the metal, fortunately leaving patterns and excesses. Samples, synths and even voice ( the experimental hip-hop artist Black Saturn, the microphone on 'Iron Communique') are the "spices" to flavor a sound that's sinuous and heady, able to seduce a great time with the Middle East stretches from what is 'Disrupting The Ghost' as well as bring down the dark with a "light-apocalyptic" thick 'Refuge'. Sterile exercises in style made to stir among different kinds, maybe with frayed results, but the welcome realization of a vision that is at the ideal crossroads of musical currents of thought, framed by a production worthy of so much creative effort. An artist to watch for all lovers of the more experimental sounds and border, hoping for a career in the future, not episodic..."

Many thanks to Roberto Alessandro Filippozzi (Darkroom Magazine's Director) for publishing the review!

The One True Dead Angel

Austin, TX. based blog, 'TheOneTrueDeadAngel', recently posted a review of 'Duality'.

".. Now this is something I can get behind: a diabolical mix of hip-hop, noise, and metal that's heavy on beats inspired by Massive Attack circa MEZZANINE (still my vote for the best trip-hop album ever, with the best beats), ambient weirdness akin to the dubbed-out cyclone of death tearing through Scorn's first album, and liberal doses of pure noise. Industrial music and hip-hop seems like an unlikely sonic marriage, but in FluiD's hands they work together really well. Fans of Scorn's debut VAE SOLIS will find this to be in the same ballpark, albeit nowhere near as aggressive and violent; with the exception of the driving opener 'DH-1', these are mostly mid-tempo tracks built on fat beats, dub-heavy bass, and melodies that are often processed sounds swaddled in noise. The Massive Attack influence is particularly prominent on 'AIC' and 'Disrupting the Ghost', but 'Iron Communique' (featuring buried vocals courtesy of Black Saturn) is closer to white noise with occasional beats and incredibly distorted guitar riffs, and 'Dread Futures' opens with what sounds like voices underwater before segueing into bass 'n drums straight out of MEZZANINE and a lilting piano melody. Refuge, nothing more than a droning string melody accompanied by a drifting collection of ambient noises, acts as a brief respite from the beats, and 'Froz N II' is more about sounds and textures, with beats held in abeyance until halfway through the song. All ten tracks are strong, deftly mixing textured sounds and noises with uncomplicated beats that are nevertheless perfect for the occasion. In short: great stuff, and hopefully more will follow..."

http://theonetruedeadangel.blogspot.com/

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