Machinefabriek — Assemblage

Machinefabriek’s latest album Assemblage is just that, an assemblage of rare material originally recorded for compilations, collaborations, unreleased film and installation soundtracks, and the Nerf EP that received a limited release as a 3” CD. The brain child of Rutger Zuyderveldt, Machinefabriek have been around the block and have released a number of proclamations of their intent since their inception in 2004.

Opening track Nerf, begins with some acoustic guitar clangs and soon the sound of scraping and scratching takes over. An interesting soundscape, quite minimalist and pleasant. Love Conquers Everything is up next, opening up with a drone, this track heads in more traditional ambient drone territory, climaxing with some acoustic guitar strumming at the end. WinterWende begins with a quite atmospheric approach, heading more into noisey, found sound territory by the middle of the track. A cello like drone takes hold and backed with a sort of crumbling sound reminiscent of ice breaking, takes the track in a different direction. Track 4 is Solo for Voice 51, a short piece using voice samples, this is followed by the seven minute Harmed Harp, sounding not unlike a ZX Spectrum loading this is among the more interesting tracks on the album, extra layers add more interest, as it winds its way around and through various drones, samples and found sounds. Kleurenrivier is up next and another of the album’s high points, the opening sounds of squelchy, bubbling sounds would not be out of place on an early Aphex Twin record, before long this gives way to a much darker dronefest, this would not sound out of place in a David Lynch film.

Ivory Ghosts, keeps things located firmly within spooky, atmospheric, horror drone territory. The use of acoustic instruments to add extra menace to the drones weaving throughout, the track works really well, and gives a sense of the menace lurking in the shadows. Sluimer is up next, the longest track on the album at over 12 minutes, and surprisingly the most traditional sounding. Simple and minimalist, the track is largely made up of acoustic guitar playing, gentle and relaxing, it offers a nice change of pace. News Variations follows that up with a much more oppressive sound, there is a definite horror drone vibe to it. Reminiscent of the soundscapes that David Lynch uses to great effect in Eraserhead, and some of his more Avant Garde work. The rest of the albums follows a similar path, drones, gongs, creaks and found sounds are central to the work and make for a truly unsettling listen.

Overall, this compilation of oddities is much more interesting than one would have any right to expect. Zuyderveldt has produced an album that works nicely as a whole piece, which, when one considers its varied origins is no mean feat. If you like spooky, ambient drones, this may be for you.