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

"...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

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...

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/

Monsieur Delire

From Monsieur Delire, who writes about 'Envisioning Abstraction: the Duality of FluiD' -

"... In the vein of Scorn and Dälek, FluiD delivers instrumental hip-hop (except for a collaboration from Black Saturn) blended in with noise and dub. Abrasive but beat-driven, techno-sounding though nothing simplistic or formulaic, multistylistic and multiethnic though coherent, with a rebellous attitude to boost. Sure-footed...".

http://blog.monsieurdelire.com/2011/08/2011-08-2930-mccormick-duo-fluid.html

Plastik Mekanik review of Duality

French-Canadian blog, Plastik Mekanik, recently posted a review of Duality.

Below is the English translation -

"... On air, I've often talked about the album 'Duality' by FluiD (Alrealon Musique),
but I never took the time to say a word here on my blog.
It is a very interesting album and a nice surprise.

First, we feel that FluiD has a good musical experience (this is not his first release)
and that he knows where his music lies.
It's very well done and the work has been done with plain honesty.
This album does not renew a particular genre, but the music tissue is strong enough.

You can feel the influences (Dalek, Scorn and a few others).
FluiD does not try to imitate what his predecessors have done,
which is very appreciated and is not something we see that often in music.

It's heavy, murky and the rhythms are as nasty as we like. We are hoping that the following
releases are going to be as good as this one. Maybe his next work is going to be less
colored by his influences and still allow FluiD to keep his sinister attitude.

A nice little surprise, heavy and yellow that comes out of nowhere, released on a fresh
new label, that I believe we'll have to follow!..."

The French review can be found here -
http://plastikmekanik.blogspot.com/2011/07/chroniquethe-fluiddualityalrealon.html

Sonomu Review of Duality

FluiD - 'Envisioning Abstraction: The Duality of FluiD' (Alrealon Musique)

"...First actual compact disc from French-Swiss-American label Alrealon Musique, a digital delivery system since 2008 determined not to be pigeonholed by anything but its own taste and recognition of talent.

FluiD is from Chicago but has obviously long been breathing in the fumes floating over the Atlantic from the various fires lit by Kevin Martin over the years (Techno Animal, The Bug). FluiD´s is a big, rusty dub, machinery suffering from metal fatigue, pressed into one final push before the Four Horsemen ride in. Envisioning Abstraction has a nasty, growling demeanor, but a well-developed melodic sensibility, which even reveals itself as quite sweet on 'Dread Futures'. Although sampling freely, only 'Iron Communique' features lyrics, composed and chanted through a slaughter of guitars by Black Saturn.

 There´s something distinctly global about FluiD´s record, which has nothing to do with resorting to plucking exotic sound flora. A piece like 'The Absent Present' seems urgent to address everybody everywhere in a kind of musical Esperanto.

 FluiD´s pieces generally get straight down to business, communicating volumes in three to five minutes where others would stretch a less interesting idea to far greater length with much less impact. (In fact, his longest track is his least successful.) This is what makes 'Envisioning Abstraction' a great album, one Kevin Martin is probably listening to..."


http://alrealon.co.uk/alrn008.html

Posted by Stephen Fruitman at 20:20, 12 Aug 2011
http://sonomu.net/text/~llpqed/
http://www.state51.co.uk/

Subba-Cultcha Review of Duality

UK webzine, Subba-Cultcha recently posted a review of Duality.

"... Dark industrial hip-hop beats and soundscapes that paint a far from idyllic picture of the underground..."

The full review can be found here -
http://www.subba-cultcha.com/album-reviews/article.php?contentID=25182

kultur[terrorismus]

German webzine, kultur[terrorismus] recently published a review of Duality.

Below is the english translation:

"...In my personal discography, some albums are classified as "Crossover Dance Floor" and that would be a perfect description for the album, 'Envisioning Abstraction: the Duality of FluiD' by Chicago-based musician/producer FluiD. Envisioning Abstraction: the Duality of FluiD is released on Alrealon Musique (based in Switzerland and the USA), who released a trendy and stylish digipack CD.

Christophe Gilmore alias FluiD – a proud but critical American (a rare combination), which shows through his work the present and the hypothetic al future of his country. Because his overall vision is probably negative or pessimistic, this album has a dark touch.

Musically, FluiD has created a tasteful blend of Dub, Trip Hop, Metal, Hip-Hop and Noise-Core. In this album, melodies and experimentation share equal parts. Envisioning Abstraction: the Duality of FluiD can please Massive Attack listeners as well as well as those of a more specific crowd.

My favorite track is clearly the catchy 'Dread Futures' (I love Reggae!) it presents the finest Dub combined with distorted guitar lines.

In conclusion, 'Envisioning Abstraction: the Duality of FluiD' is the perfect album for people who love “out of the box” music, multicultural love & Massive Attack!

I like it and I recommend it!..."

You can read the review in German here -
http://kulturterrorismus.de/rezensionen/fluid-envisioning-abstraction-the-duality-of-fluid.html

L'Arrache review of Duality

French webzine L'Arrache recently published a review of 'Duality'. Below is the translation of the review.

The review in French can be found here -
 http://www.a-l-arrache.net/home/musique/reviews-albums/fluid---envisioning-abstraction-the-duality-of-fluid

"...Why would we spend time to think about what influences we should include into our music? The best way to do it, is to include in our album all our influences at once! That's, what people want to do in theory but in practice, this kind of mixture can quickly turn sour, or even laborious.

Gilmore has taken elements from current urban music to create a multifaceted album (by the way "multiplicity" would have been a good album name as well) with two main influences, Trip-Hop and a gloomy Dub flirting with Hip Hop but this is just the FluiD’s music foundation. Tracks like the opening 'DH-1', 'AIC' and 'Parallel States' are close to Massive Attack debut songs or music that could have been written by Tricky collaborating with DJ Shadow. Even if 'Dread Futures' and 'The Absent Present' are a tribute to Scorn, some details cleary show that the songs aren’t just copies of what we've already heard.

Indeed, most of the time we discover clever mixtures like these guitar loops (that could have been written by JK Broadrick) mixed with harsh noise ('AIC'), atmospheric "Dark-Hop" over Noisecore parts or Dark-Electronica coupled with powerful Dub ('Disrupting The Ghost'). Other Tracks sound like industrial-orientated Massive Attack songs ('Sublimation in The Zero Hour') and even straight Sludge/Metal ('Frzn II').

Overall, despite the references given above, the whole album is more related to projects like Techno Animal and The Blood Of Heroes. Again, we could imagine this album as a result of a collaboration between Broadrick, Dälek, DJ Shadow and Tricky. However, the production quality of some samples and loops (some "guitars" in particular) can shock sometimes. Hip-Hop scratching parts are more appreciated here and we can easily guess from what scene FluiD comes from.
 However, you should be warned that if this album can really be appreacited, it can also be disappointing. If you think you’ll get a second Massive Attack or another Scorn, you’ll be frustrated. Because this album contains so many elements that, even if we can recognize the influences, the result will sound very unique and the closest comparisons we can give are experimental projects like Techno animal or Justin Broadrick with The Blood of Heroes.
 In conclusion, 'Duality' is a very pleasant surprise that comes out from nowhere and that explores different genres. This album is more for the experimental/crossover crowd than the usual one..."

Sonyudum review of Duality

Turkish blog, Sonyudum, recently posted a review of 'Duality'. It is mixed in with a review of The Blood of Heroes, remix CD, 'Remain'.

Here is the English translation:

"... Released last year, 'The Blood of Heroes' is an excellent album. Remain is The Blood Of Heroes remix album was also one of the best albums of last year.

These Metal albums have the perfect blend of dubstep, dark atmosphere and the inherent stiffness at the same time, although the shoegaze style of the album with melancholic parts was absolutely shocking and so peculiar.

FluiD also has some elements I just mentioned. His music oscillates between Dubstep, Metal, Dark Ambient, Noise, Hip-Hop and Industrial.

Loud, experimental music with hard parts. Do not miss your favorite track, relax while listening to the entire album on Bandcamp.

In particular, 'Disrupting the Ghost' is the track I would like to draw attention to, it is my favorite song on the album..."

The original post in Turkish, can be found here -
http://sonyudum.blogspot.com/2011/05/fluid-envisioning-abstraction-duality.html

Foxy Digitalis reviews 'Duality'

Oklahoma based webzine, Foxy Digitalis, recently published a review of 'Duality'.

Here is an excerpt from the review:

"...Chicago’s  FluiD (a.k.a. Christophe Gilmore) is extremely prolific with his releases, and alongside a handful of singles and compilations in recent months stands his full-length Duality, on Alrealon Music (with contacts in Switzerland and Chicago). Gilmore is at once multi-instrumentalist and electronic artist, and judging from the eclectic passages throughout his full-length release, he is comfortable exploring every connotation or layer of subversion between traditional music and futuristic endeavors. He’s hard enough to pin down as an artist, appearing everywhere from art galleries to clubs to the University of Chicago, and Duality provides yet another challenge to the listener’s musical boundaries..."

Read the full review, here - http://www.foxydigitalis.com/foxyd/?p=11569

Machinist

Belorussian electro, industrial, noise webzine Machinist has published a review of  'Envisioning Abstraction: the Duality of FluiD'.

Below is the fully translated review:

"...The debut album 'Duality' by Chicago artist FluiD contains music that you often aren’t used to hearing in the electro-noise-industrial genre. FluiD’s music can be best described as dark and viscous, and as a mix of heavy addictive Dub, Industrial, Dark-Ambient, alternative Hip-Hop, Metal, Grindcore and Noise. The sound can be clean and enlightened or it can sometimes be dirty and rough. In fact, the whole album represents a slow wandering in the darkness, with a cold and harsh rhythmic sound. It sounds like a soundtrack for a city with a disused tunnel that leads to a dead, post-apocalyptic future. Combining acoustic parts with noisy and electronic elements, bits and samples, this album shows a certain creativity and the spontaneous nature of it surely had a positive effect on most of the tracks. You can also note an unexpected melodic music, due to the successful use of a synth ('AIC'), some Arabic vocals ('Disrupting The Ghost') or even sounds coming from some kind of bagpipes ('Sublimination In The Zero Hour'). The only collaborative track 'Iron Communique' , includes vocals from another Alrealon Musique artist Black Saturn.

In this album, guitar riffs are pretty well included into the whole mix and they don’t take over the tracks. The guitar sounds are smooth and beautiful, and sometimes, they can be lost in distortion, creating some looming Metal riffs. These riffs don’t intend to change the mood, instead they add a spicy taste to the entire thing. FluiD managed to create powerful tracks with an efficient rhythm.

The good thing about this album is that the influences aren’t clearly visible at first. 'DH-1', 'Disrupting The Ghost' and 'The Absent Present' combine perfectly, energy and Ambient elements, which produce very good Industrial tracks with a Hypnotic/Trance/Shamanic dancefloor identity. When you listen more carefully to the tracks, you realize that a lot of details and nuances have been introduced here. Most of the time, the Ambient/Drone, Sludge, Grindcore, Industrial thick layers cover these subtle elements, or they might be drowned into the concrete gloomy rumbling texture.

 'Envisioning Abstraction: The Duality of FluiD' is an interesting album with haunting parts and a lot of good surprises. This album tries to push the genre boundaries. The Experimental Dub-Noise-Industrial tracks are definitely worth checking out, especially for fans of Scorn, Dalek, Techno Animal, The Bug, Lustmord, UNIT: 187 and the production works of French label Audiotrauma..."

7/10
vAlien/DJ Commando LABELLA
http://www.machinistmusic.net/reviews/fluidcd2011.html

Cyclic Defrost reviews Duality

Australian electronic music magazine, Cyclic Defrost recently posted a review of Duality.

Here is an excerpt from the review:

"...For the ten tracks gathered here, FluiD sets his sights firmly on the harder edged, post-industrial end of the instrumental hiphop spectrum, resulting in a distinctly moody collection that manages to deftly balance a sense of deep dubby swagger with the sorts of poisoned, steel-plated beats you’d expect from Techno Animal or Scorn. Opening track ‘DH-1′ gives good indication as to the sorts of menacing atmospheres on offer here, sending a deep growling live bassline crawling like a serpent beneath tense, tightly-coiled hiphop snares and the squeal of overdriven synths, the droning textures nearing the redline as they get pushed through all manner of filtering,..."

Read the full review here - http://www.cyclicdefrost.com/blog/2011/03/19/fluid-%E2%80%93-duality-alrealon/