Geins't Naït — Fishes

Fishes is album number five from the French experimental duo Geins't Naït. First released in the year 1989- the album is a strange ‘n’ heady mix of industrial-to-electro fired beats ‘n’ tones, dada-focused soundscaping, and cryptic-to-unsettling field recordings/samples

Here from Klanggalerie is the first-ever CD release of the album. It comes presented in a glossy four-panel digipak- this takes in the original artwork, with photos of the two band members with large red lips awkwardly placed on their faces, squiggled white texts on black backgrounds, and pictures of wooden pallets.

The album is a twelve-track affair with each running between just over a minute, and around the seven-minute mark.  The first half of the album moves from “Sandra” with its snaking ‘n’ snapping beats, twanging-to-sliding guitar tones, and chattering-to-sped-up Italian dialogue samples. We have “Rase Mottes - Lavabo Birthday” which starts off with a brooding mixture of dark tolling synth tones & metal hits- spinning with sped-up tones. It then drops into a few moments of insect sounds & water drippings, before shifting into a longer dwell in locked beats, tooth-brushing sounds, and brood tone simmer/ whistle. Or there’s “Freezer” which blends snaking beat patterns, backwards tones, eerier ethnic horn loops, warbling bell tones, and distant moaning.

In its second half, we go from chopping-to-smarting beats, wonky key hovers, and chattering oldman ‘n’ sped-up female voice samples of “Vichy – China”. There’s “Nefer Neferou - Lisa Café” with its shifting mix of percussive metal loops, brooding tone buzz ‘n’ warping pitch, playground horn bounces, sudden explosions, beats ‘n’ strange voice collaging, etc. With the album playing out with the bounding ‘n’ waltzing groove of “Une Petite” with its snapping beats, tolling guitar tones, electro noise rises, and ranting-to-hissed French male.

This is now the third reissue of Geins't Naït back catalogue from Klanggalerie following on from their 2021 reissue of the duo's first album GN, and their 2022 release of their second L'Or'n Cät. And I do hope they are more planned- as Geins't Naït certainly have their own quirky flare &  charm within the European post-industrial/ experimental electro scene,  and I’d love to hear more of it!.