Oscuro — II
Presented as a 3” CD-R, II offers a single track of static noise sterilization. Whereas a lot of wall artists might beat listeners over the head with sheer volume and audio brutality, Oscuro takes a much different path. As a matter of fact, II is one of the more unique wall releases I’ve heard in recent memory. The piece begins with a static line of bubbling texture. It actually quite reminded me of the amplified sounds of boiling water; the breaking and popping of liquid surface with steamy froth falling over a pot’s sides. This continues on for a while in static repetition. Around 6 minutes in, a slow moving bass judder can be heard just beyond the periphery. It slowly builds in intensity, but always stays well within the backdrop of the piece. As the piece progresses, the bubbling churn becomes thicker and muffled. This goes on mostly unimpeded till nearly 14 minutes in, when either the static bubbling foundation takes a slight shift or another line of similar sounding tones enter the fray. It’s kind of hard to tell, but it all melds together quite nicely until it just abruptly ends at 19:04.
Truthfully, I’ve never followed Skrobek’s work too closely, but based on this release, I’m ready to dive in more. After consuming a steady diet of wall noise for several years, it is far and few releases that I really find something that sounds unique and different. However, Oscuro managed to do just that. It’s definitely worth tracking down, and should appeal to those who like their noise focused and steady without too much bite.