Illustrious — Mesmerine 111

While I would argue that the claim for 111hz "deactivating the language centre" isn't accurate (I'm listening to it while I write this review), I could see how the other benefits of the frequency may have validity (switch to right-side of the brain, responsible for intuition, creativity, and meditation) in the right circumstances. However, that is outside the scope of Musique[Machine], so you will have to immerse yourself in the album and allow the Mesmerine to course through your body and mind to verify their claims for yourself. For our end, we will examine the doses themselves solely for their audio aesthetic. Anyone familiar with Martyn's early work with The Human League, the progression to heady, experimental, ambient definitely tracks, and is very welcome in a world of re-recordings, revivals, and vintage nostalgia. Mesmerine 111, as the name likes to imply, is a very clinical, sterile ambient, focused more on presenting the 111hz psychoacoustic and physiological effects above with the listenability and enjoyment as a sub-premise. After all, one is less likely to subject themselves to a fifty minute dose if the signals aren't at least pleasurable. The droning, slowly oscillating synths move like leviathans through the black ether, their waveforms highly visible like a whale watching excursion in Tron. Minimal to an extent, the flourishes that twinkle and shimmer off of the main backbone give the piece the appearance of forward motion, when actually its main function is being the steady, low, background throb. Outside of a few volume related rises and falls, this remains pretty unchanged, playing host to a handful of different synth accessories along the way. With the lack of differentiation, change, or really anything of note, ten minutes of this dose is a bit too long, let alone the full fifty. However, this is not the intended purpose of Mesmerine 111, and I feel like judging the "2D" audio alone isn't giving the work its full due, so please take that into account when venturing forth on your own examination. The second dose is the same audio but with the addition of Charles Stooke's calm, hypnotic, spoken "product" slogans. With Mesmerine as the imaginary drug, the litany of uses and side effects is very familiar to a modern audience (especially as an American), and while elucidating the audience to the parameters of the project, it's also a nice tongue-in-cheek pisstake at the modern state of health, pharmacology, and its place as commerce over healing. Stooke's vocals help to break up the hypnotic drone, making "Dose 2" far more palatable for repeated listening.

 

Illustrious' Mesmerine 111 is ambitious and intriguing, its use of 111hz in a 3D sound environment with the purpose of altering one's functions to bring about a more open, intuitive side of self and consciousness. Fully immersed, one could imagine how powerful this could be, closing one's eyes and allowing the self to just be and explore. "Turn on, tune in, drop out," so to speak. As an album, the first dose is interesting but not for much more than the first eight or so minutes, with the second dose upping the enjoyment quite a bit. Even still, the second fifty minutes is still a slog, but again, just listening for listening's sake isn't the purpose of Mesmerine 111. When the album is on in the background while working, it plays well and more likely closer to the original intent. It is a great premise and the artists behind it are well respected, so I would certainly recommend checking it out. It may not get many spins for straight up listening, but if one is able to set up and spend the time allowing the Mesmerine to take hold, the album becomes far more than the sum of its parts.