Isolat Pattern ‎– Clinical Ambience

[Reviewed by stark]

I’ve never heard of this Berlin project before; I suspect it’s anonymous not only for me. Yet the Ukrainian publishing house Kvitnu suddenly releases this less than half an hour material, which makes that slippers fall off your feet and tooth fillings are crumbling . At least I feel I have to go to a dentist.

Benjamin Harris has aptly titled his debut, because it contains sounds which in fact are clean, almost clinical in nature, while being sharp and precise like a scalpel in the hands of an experienced surgeon. “Blk.Hse” begins and ends with a few seconds of a noise wall, and between them the musician has placed an intricately woven rhythmic form, as dynamic as it is inhumanly sterile. Formally Isolat Pattern somewhat calms down in “Darkness Curves”, but the atmosphere continues to be airless and disturbing. A subtle, ascetic texture of a dark color provides the backdrop for mechanical micromelodies ,straight from the underground military complex where the research for artificial intelligence and the possibility of its use in warfare is taking place.

An amalgam of the two first compositions is “Die Charmante Verlockung” – the atmosphere that this part emanates I wouldn’t count among the most sunny ones in the world, although it has a slightly more vivid character than “Darkness Curves”. There is also a pleasant drone toning down the cold which protrudes from Isolat Pattern’s music. “Glitterer” shines like fluorescent light on a floor so clean that you can lick it. The mid-tempo and vibrant rhythm evoke the specter of Autechre that is looming on the horizon. The most aggressive track turns out to be “Purestate”. The noise elements reveal their face in full glory. The second part of the composition is like synthetic madness; wild sea and high frequencies and interference and a lyrical electronic sequence drifting on it like a lonely castaway.

“Twinning” is a short swift kick in the face, which consists of a restless, broken rhythm, being like a sonic reflection of the state of mind of a child suffering from ADHD. This may not be the most dynamic part of the release, but I’m not sure if it isn’t the one where Benjamin stresses its uncompromising stance in the most definite manner.

Creative madness, courage and talent make that by using fairly limited means the musician produced the maximum effect. It’s a suggestive mechanical vision of the world, a huxleyesque dystopia, which in larger doses might have caused me fatigue, not necessarily because of the quality of the music, because this is undeniable, but by the fact that a long period of time without fresh air and contact with organic life forms doesn’t work well on my heart.

Isolat Pattern ‎– Clinical Ambience
Kvitnu, KVITNU 37
CDr 2015