"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]
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:
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
"...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..."
"...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
"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
Splits,whichare a concept, like 'The Pursuitof Salvation'fromJohn 3:16&FluiD,wherethe US-Swissduopicks upthecoming apocalypse,arerarelyor not onthe market. I'm noting only the peculiarityof this work,whose atmospheres, creators and consumers are experimental. Originallystartedin England andnowbased in Switzerland,France andtheU.S.,AlrealonMusiquedevelopedwithin thesceneastartingpoint forexperimentalsound art,where namessuch as BlackSaturn,FluiD,John3:16,PAS andZilmrahdominatethe back catalog. Initself, 'The Pursuitof Salvation'12" (limitedto 300copies), appearsperfectly integrated. Allwait2012 (?) theimpendingapocalypse, includingFluiD&John3:16,referring to 'The Pursuitof Salvation'in generalbutprobablywith acurrent referenceto approachthe topic,whichtheydo briefly (MaxiLPclose to 15minutes of playingtime perside). Making itvery compellingwith their industrial, trip-hopanddubstyles(FluiD); organic, ambient and noise (includingdrone)(John3:16).It's remarkablethe guysinthisshort-time frame are able to produce atmospheres that entrain. The structureson both sidestotallyput you under a spell,clap your handsinthe end,a formidablesoundtrack for ashortfilm thatsuggests theend of the world,weprobablyescapedoncemore. Conclusion: FluiD andJohn 3:16, take on 'The Pursuitof Salvation'underthe banner of"brevity isthe soul of wit", reveals impressively -myabsoluterecommendation!
PS: How manyartists in 70 minutesnever cometo their point,FluiD&John 3:16crushtheir listeners several timesin 30minutes!
ChrisGilmore,experimentalelectronicmusicianfrom Chicago,perhapsbetter known (to some) under thepseudonym,FluiD; whichhe has usedsince 1988when hereleasedhis debut12" single 'Warhol'.Onhisalbums andhis songs,he deliversa mix ofpsychedelia,noise,jazz, dub, ambient,industrialand otherimaginable andunimaginablemusicalgenres.Afterlast year'swellreceivedalbum'EnvisioningAbstraction:TheDualityof FluiD' andin collaborationwith a colleaguefrom the label,has decided to release a split12''on whichhe has three new songson the Aside.
AngelsPt.IIcontinuesBowie'sthemefrom the movie 'Cat People'.With the sameorsimilarrepetitivesequence, andeach timeyoulisten, Iexpect you will startto sing"andI've beenputtingoutfirewithgasoline".Plagueis adark, epictheme that will leave you with a tingling feeling, all over yourbody. Forewarning is anelectronicexperiment, whichreminded me of a longforgottenGoldie.
John 3:16is aSwissexperimentalelectronicmusician.He has recentlyreleaseda minialbum. Twosongs thatdid notfit onthat mini-albumstretchacrossone sideof thisEP.Repetitiveelements aregeneratedby electronicdevicesandsampled.During theentiretwelve minutesofsongs, he introducesus intoaspecial world.So,'Godis Light'is slowlyevolvingintoexplosionsthat occurbefore theend of thesong,whilst a choirsinging,leads us 'Toward theRedSea' makinga songwhich is favoredandexalted.
Thisrecordis definitely notfor everyonebutanyone whopossesses it orwillpossess it,will likeandappreciate it.
Chicago (US) based DJ/producer/remixer/radio host, dj lgcc aka dreamlogicc recently completed a mix for Alrealon Musique which gathers selections from our catalogue. The mix aired on dj lgcc's WNUR radio show, Sat. Aug. 6th, 2011 and again on Sat. Aug. 13th, 2011.
Featured in the mix are tracks by DJ Phys, Black Saturn, FluiD, John 3:16, Black Saturn vs. subduxtion and PAS.
"Duality delves into a dark blend of industrial music, dub, rock, hip-hop. What inspired you when you create it?"
"Duality is really a reflection of me and the music/musicians and artists that inspired me and made an impact on me. I really wanted to make a musical statement about who I am. Music for me is about communicating what I'm thinking and what I'm feeling. I wish I was better at verbally communicating with people. There is a mystery and a weight to who I am. I think I've begun to understand that and realize it's part of who I am. It's something I can tap into and draw from. It was very important not to compromise and try to fit it into any category or genre. Duality blends different types of music because I don't listen to just one type of music. I have been profoundly affected by the music of many musicians across a very wide sound spectrum. The world is full of amazing musicians and music and I've spent most of my life seeking them out. Inspiration is also a challenge. I was not just inspired but challenged by what I had heard, seen and read. I needed to make something that honored those who had inspired me. In some way it's also a thank you to those who pushed and pulled music and art into new forms and new directions."
"You studied classical and jazz music, and learned to play a wide variety of instruments since you’ve been a child. How this education led you to a musical universe where the first thing you claim is abstraction?"
"Learning to play a wide variety of instruments was part of my musical education and sometimes it was out of necessity. I started on clarinet in the school band and then progressed to piano, saxophone, flute, oboe, drums and bass guitar. I studied classical music and Jazz to gain a greater understanding to those two musics. Abstraction is about reducing things to their essence. From Jazz and classical musics I learned new things, new ideas and new approaches and took those things and Incorporated them into my musical language. Abstraction isn't necessarily about nothingness. For me it's about gaining an understanding of something and then breaking it down into it's core."
The latest Alrealon release sees Brooklyn, NY collective PAS , deconstruct and reconstruct, audio fragments, vocals and beats from Alrealon artists, Black Saturn, FluiD, LAX, John 3:16 and Zilmrah into new compositions.
Listen to a track from, 'PAS - Reconstruction', here
"Sascha Müller aka Pharmacom start his career with djìng and producing in 1990. He was inspired by Projects like Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream and stuff like Sven Väth played in his dj sets. The musical style reaches from ambient chill out, house and techno music in his own special way. His way of producing is the use old analog equipment in the same way as the newest Software in digital producing. The greatest thing for him is to create new soundcollages and wicked samples for his tracks. As a Dj he played in several european locations and events like love parade and thunderdome. At the moment he is also playing as a vj and is involved in multimedia productions with some other global video and grafic artists."
Look for Sascha's upcoming 'Move My Body' EP on Alrealon Music (release date 12.13.10).
Last month Alrealon artists Zilmrah /O\ and Robert Pepper of PAS performed together at Silent Barn in NYC. You can view video of their performance here.
We're having a remix contest based around our joint release with DSMS, 'ARU meets FluiD - Fearless EmpireKilllers'. The top 7 remixes will be released as part of 'ARU meets FluiD - Fearless Empire Killers (version)', in both digital and CDR formats.
Brooklyn, NY musician/artist Zilmrah /O\ who did a podcast for us back in April of this year, will have a new full-length release available early next year. In the meantime you can hear a new track from Zilmrah /O\ as well as John 3:16 on the DSMS compilation, 'Psidronic'.
I also want to remind everyone of the Alrealon Music Forum and if you join our forum, you'll receive a download link for the free digital single, 'Machina - re/tooled'.
Chris Gilmore, known by his stage name, ‘FluiD’, is a Chicago, IL. based experimental / multi-genre electronic musician, sound-designer and cultural activist. A self-described, "Afro-futurist". His first album 'Warhol' was released was in 1988 and since that time has released over a dozen albums. His 2011 release, 'Envisioning Abstraction: the Duality of FluiD' (ALRN008), received international
critical acclaim.
FluiD's music, encompasses a multitude of styles and influences - techno, jazz, noise, classical avant-garde, hip-hop, psychedelia, metal, dub, early industrial and ambient. It is often referred to as "post industrial hip-hop".
In addition to his many releases, FluiD has also performed throughout North America and Central America, from concert halls to art galleries to dance clubs. He was also a featured performer at several music festivals including, 'experi-MENTAL Festival' (Brooklyn, NY.), 'Noise Shock: Abstract Art and Music Festival' (East Moline, IL.), 'Under the Radar - experimental/industrial/electronic music exposition' (Kansas City, MO.) and 'Spark: Festival of Electronic Music and Arts' (Minneapolis, MN.).