The Bastard Noise & Christian Renou — Brainstorming II

A low droning signal emits from the loudspeakers accompanied by ceremonial drum hits as the split release from (The) Bastard Noise and Christian Renou kicks into life. Employing a dizzying array of sound sources and textures, the duo of experimentalists present an incredibly effective collection of tracks that come together to form a really solid album. Both artists are highly respected in their own rights, Bastard Noise has collaborated in the past with such influential extreme artists such as Government Alpha, Merzbow and Man is the Bastard to name but a few, whilst Christian Renou will probably best recognised through his forays into musique concrete under his ‘Brume’ alias, having himself been active in experimental music circles since 1978.

As the low end industrial drum kicks and droning textures evolve, the album gradually moves into more non-linear and experimental territories; colourful swathes of noise and granular activity swallow up the airwaves sending you on a deliriously hideous and ever changing journey. Slipping easily between ritual sounding death industrial, power noise and experimental improvisation, all the while maintaining an all-pervading dark ambience throughout...the talents of the respective artists are combined flawlessly and to devastating effect. The time passes far too quickly as you become effortlessly drawn into their twisted musical vision, I am exposed to a lot of experimental music and it is always refreshing to hear work that still sounds great after such a substantial amount of time.

This particular collaborative effort is noted as being recorded in 2002 (with the physical release only seeing the light of day in 2009) laying testament to their high levels of musicianship and production values, the inability to sound out-dated and unoriginal…the overall mix of the album is very airy, giving all the combining elements room to breathe, which in turn creates the all-encompassing vibe which is present throughout. However, the album still manages to maintain a more human, less sterile feel than a lot of experimental releases in a similar vein, a superb example of harsh experimentation juxtaposed with great depth and ethereal intensity without the reliance on incredibly abrasive assaults alone. The album is best appreciated when you have a spare hour to completely immerse yourself and to forget any external stimulus; clearly this is not easy listening in any sense and demands a bit more investment from the listener, but the outcome is highly rewarding!