Gintas K and Michelle O’Rourke — Sorry Gold

Gintas K is a Lithuanian sound artist, formerly of industrial music group, Modus. Over the last 20 years, he has been incredibly prolific releasing a host of solo albums, and collaborations with other artists. He is joined on this release by Dublin-based Michelle O’Rourke on vocals, who has a background in baroque vocal music, but has a fairly diverse portfolio of work that includes contemporary classical music and a folk ensemble album.

The album opener, "Sorry Gold # 1" is a fairly atmospheric slice of ambient electronica that features some particularly avant-garde style vocals from Michelle O’Rourke that don’t sit too far from those of Diamanda Gallas. "Sorry Gold # 2" features some fairly sparse instrumentation with some more traditional-sounding classical vocals from O’Rourke. Just to complicate matters, "Sorry Gold # 4" is up next and provides something more akin to Gintas K’s roots in industrial music. This is followed by "Sorry Gold # 3", which sits somewhere between the noisier industrial electronica of Part 4 and the more chilled smooth ambient soundscapes of the album’s first two tracks with some stunning vocals from O’Rourke. "Sorry Gold #4 #2" is an altogether noisier industrial affair. There is a harshness to the monotonous, motorik beat that is juxtaposed against O’Rourke’s stunning vocals which give the track a certain melodic quality. These two very different aspects to the track sit together beautifully, despite their stylist differences. "Sorry Gold #2 #2" takes us back to the lighter sounds of the album’s opening tracks before "Sorry #4 #3" takes us back to the darker side with some evil-sounding distorted electronic industrial noise that is a little closer to HNW drone than anything that has gone before. O’Rourke’s ethereal vocals seem to dilute the distorted noise, creating something that once again juxtaposes the beauty of the voice with the harshness of the music. "Sorry Gold #3 #2" follows, mixing some pretty harsh electronic sounds with a blend of beautiful ethereal vocals and avant-garde screeches to create something that takes in a few different moods and musical styles. "Sorry Gold #5" is in essence led by O’Rourke’s classical-style vocals with some sparse, creepy electronica backing that reminds me a little of Japan’s Ghosts in places. The album closer, "Sorry Gold #6" follows in a similar fashion, all creepy atmospheric bubbling synth noise and gorgeous vocals.

Sorry Gold is at times dissonant and noisy and at other times beautiful and fragile, but it generally sits somewhere in between these two extremes. The juxtaposition of the almost industrial-sounding distorted electronica and Michelle O’Rourke’s beautiful almost operatic voice creates something that defies logical explanation and makes it difficult to categorise. However, it’s also the reason that the album is so successful in my mind. It manages to balance these vastly different styles to create something that works perfectly. If you like music that takes chances to create something unique then this may be for you.