Object - Mechanisms Of Faith

We're lucky that Nader Moumneh's passion and fanaticism towards Dark Electro and Old-School Electro is without condition - otherwise we'd already be hitting a big hurdle.
As the second official release by EAR (EAR 002), we have to contend with both overcoming the mighty label debut that was the Old School Electrology Boxset, and surpassing Andreas Malik's previous masterpiece, 'The Ethane Asylum'.

In typical extravagant fashion, this double CD kicks us off with 'Mescaline Crisis', and borrows the priceless vocals of Martin Sane (fix8:Sed8).
The track is a smoothly produced amalgamation of 90's style Electro-Industrial, with modern elements of IDM and Dark Electro. It's a rare moment where I can't really draw a fair comparison, but Object have always been that way - an act doing completely its own thing, and doing it with gusto.

Malik has always hinted at, and drawn influence from effects of the human psyche, and the mysteries of the mind, and it's a theme not lost on this release either, as 'Neural Explosions' will testify to. Interestingly, it's probably one of my highlights of the album, with its steady unwavering synth work, and its breezy, raucous nature. It's gentle Dark Electro, but agitating on the right side of un-nerving, and for all of those out there who like a lesson in musical pedigree, Andreas Malik is one of those teachers who will always accrue a following.

Audiences who prefer a more epic, involved track from the immediate start will call out the title track as their favourite, and it's actually difficult to think of any reason why a listener wouldn't single out this particular piece. As Object evolve, adapt, and progress, each release seems to mete out more soundscapes and ideas than previous offerings.

The contrast between the dreamlike, playful fey-like seduction of the music, and the rawer, more abrasive vocals make for a merciless assault on the Ear - you can relax and truly unwind to this release, yet the vocals make it so much more tangible and disconcerting - it's almost like the album is encoded to sequentially reflect the effects on the listener to synchronize with the track order - just as I enter this state of meditative purgatory, 'Dream Collector' kicks in, and I almost, almost dare entertain the possibility that this is one of the smartest, most detailed and cleverly worked out albums in memory - if this isn't deliberate, it's horrifically coincidential.

Omitting a few tracks (for no reason other than ease of reading), track nine ('Soul Seeking') features the talents of Sascha Lemon (LPF12), who to most of you, will be revered and respected as one of the older acts out there, with nearly 20 years in Electronic music, and a plethora of IDM albums. As disc 1 flows, each track manages to survey and draft together a completely different approach, and the final track (Empires in Peril) brings the album to it's most virile, right at the end - the introduction sample is how samples should be - short and memorable, and the beat of the track is insane.

If we dare attempt to have seconds, Disc 2 "Old School Conspiracy" is where trademark E.A.R. really comes to life. Featuring a pantheon of remixers (Literally, there are 12 all-time greats here, although I doubt this nod to faith is deliberate, if the act of having 12 remixes to reflect the pantheon is purposeful, then we have indeed something truly, breathtakingly amazing), two unreleased tracks, and some re-recordings of older tracks, this disc is dangerously potent, as it's quite revealing to see what other artists from the same niche can do with such evolved music.

Out of all of the remixes, the ones I personally have to mention are the ones by Brain Leisure, Red+Test (Chris Lewis also did the artwork for this release), Jihad, and of course, One Eye Wanders. I'd have bought the second CD for those four alone, but truth be told there isn't a weak track!

In order to truly give you all a reason to buy this, I'll not discuss the two extra bonus tracks at the end. You know they're going to be great - I've been looking for chinks in the armour of this release (and label) for sometime, and I haven't yet found anything major.

If the Blue, oceanic colour scheme doesn't add to the mood, and provide the full picture that MoF is portraying, then a pair of headphones will - an experience that you must undertake. Mar 07 2012