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illuminati
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cdep1:
"First release proper from a project who, for me, had one of the
standout entries on this label's recent Laboratory Sounds Volume 1
compilation CD. 'Constantinople' opens proceedings with nine minutes of
striking, glassy-eyed electronics, not exactly glitching and not terribly
minimalistic either, but asfar from the noise domain as can be. 'Winter
Fire' is more traditional synthesized fare with the addition of Tim Jones'
simple strumming to anchor the millpond soundimage, but with troubling
synthetic loops decorating the surface of the water. 'Hertzlow' interrupts
with 40 seconds of digitalnoise-buffoonery. But it's soon a memory.
'Argenteum Astrum' is more like it again: mantric looping and manic
laughter, which evolves into tubular bell-like chiming and creepy digital
processing. Finally, 'Seaghost of Snape Island' continues the unease with
more shifting, coruscating electronics, backed by an undercurrent of eerie
synth washes - quite spellbinding and over too quickly. This is an
excellent, well-defined release of soundworks from Illuminati highlighting
the other side of this vast new electronics scene, where invention and
uniqueness are not necessarily unknown quantities".
……………Brian Lavelle,
VitalWeekly, Staalplaat, September 2001.
"The follow up to the excellent Laboratory Series One
compilation, which set the scene pretty well as far as new experimental
music in Manchester and nearby towns and hovels goes, is a 20 minute EP
from Planetsounds main man Dave Clarkson. He used to drum for the rock
freak out combo White Cube which also included notorious nutter Lord Mongo
amongst its ranks and has more recently been spotted on stage performing
with the fluid and inventive Triclops collective. Under the guise of
Illuminati he shows off the computer music side of his multiple sonic
personalities. The opening track 'Constantinople' is based on a loop so
long it gives the illusion of a shifting, explosive electro-acoustic
piece, with big rumbles and panning whooshes so beloved of many composers
with French names. 'Winter Fire' couldn't be more different, with a slowly
strummed aquatic guitar underpinning some mashed speech gibberish.
Hertzlow is a quick burst of noise that's so short you can download the
entire track below. Argenteum Astrum is a rip roaring bubbling industrial
technoid concoction that'll get your bowels moving whilst its creator
chuckles, and I'm kind of regreting not making a sample of it as it's
turning out to be my favourite track. The final track 'Seaghost of Snape'
seems to mash up bits of all the other tracks over a rising three note
synth figure that wouldn't sound out of palace on a mid period Autechre
record, although that's the only similarity. Want another lazy reference?
Well, if you like Throbbing Gristle's '20 Jazz Funk Greats' you might also
like this".
……………Graeme Rowland,
Brainwashed
on-line, September 2001.
"More
fringe electronica from the UK. Seems to be quite a healthy electronic
music scene over there. How come we only hear from Scanner and Spooky and
Pita and Fennesz ad infinitum when there's so much more to draw from?
Guess these guys (like AQ faves Fflint central) aren't quite cool enough
for the Wire or Ars Electronica. Hardly matters. This stuff is so good
it's only a matter of time before Mego has to actually work to put out
good records instead of just recycling the same crap over and over. From
sputtering, spasming electronic free for alls to earpiercing and ribcage
rattling rumbles and squeals to brutal headphone-shredding digital skree
to overloading-sampler-malfunction rhythmic crunch, this stuff is fierce
and intense and right on. My favorite track though is the oddball track
two, a dreamy wash of moody reverbed guitars and skittering hard-panned
squelches and squiggles, sounding a bit like Boards Of Canada on horse
tranquilizers. Nice".
……………Andee Connors,
Aquarius
Records Review, San Francisco, November 2001.
"second
cdr from new manchester talent. Haunting soundscapes".
……………Rough Trade Records
Review, November 2001.
"It
was a couple of issues back that I received Planetsounds first album which
consisted of many artists stretching their electronically experimental
legs, so I was well prepared for the aural onslaught when this ep arrived.
With the exception of the guitar on Winter Fire by Tim Jones (Fflint
Central), all the five tracks are performed, written, produced mastered
and mixed by Dave Clarkson. A busy man I hear you say? The ep's well
balanced, kicking off with a truly experimental Constantinople, which
features washes of sfx. Winter Fire, on the other hand is a magnificent
ambient piece which wouldn't be out of place on an album by Eno, or Zazou
- incredibly simple yet beautifully evocative. Track 3, Hertzlow sounds
like your speakers have a virus and are doing their best to shake it off.
The track benefits from being around forty seconds, because too much of
this would spoil that initial blast zone. Argenteum, track 4, is, again,
at almost opposite ends of the experimental spectrum. The relative order
of the track suddenly breaks down around one and a half minutes, coughs
and splutters, then reassumes itself. This method is used a few times, but
each time something new, or more audible appears. It's like an electronic
crystal growing in cycles. Seaghost Of Snape Island is, again, full of sfx
but there's the odd undercurrent of a superb ambient piece, that
annoyingly disappears too often. On the whole a remarkable collection of
aural experiences that, at turns, startle and pacify. Check out their
website for more details about this little beaut".
..............Dave
W Hughes, Modern Dance Magazine, March 2002.
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cdep2:
"Four
brand new tracks recorded earlier this year from the solo electronics
project of Dave Clarkson, who runs the Planetsounds label. This 25 minute
disc opens with 'Midget Germs', a sinister mesh of respiratory sonic
malevolence, ebbing and flowing in shadowing cycles: a very captivating
prelude and, in my view, worth the admission price of this disc alone.
'Argenteum Atavism' breaks the spell somewhat with noisier, machine
jitterings, before breaking into gorgeous staccato glitchfabric sounds - a
track which effectively conveys the Illuminati trademark sound - a
reclusive, worrying electronica with the kind of occultation of meaning
not evidenced since early Scatology-era Coil. 'Glass Box Trap' is a
similar showcase for Illuminati's desire to entwine melodic elements and a
sharper layer of abstraction; and it works to good effect. To close the
disc, 'The Strange Door' opens, if you catch my drift, revealing over nine
minutes of moody, mooncontrolled soundscaping, near ambient in places,
bringing proceedings to a fitting but very paranoid ending. Another winner
from this small UK label, quietly pushing its wares into the beyond".
.................Brian
Lavelle, VitalWeekly, Staalplaat, April 2002
"Installment
number two from this mysterious UK electronic outfit, who as we have
stated before is part of the underground electronic scene that no one
seems to be taking notice of. EP2 takes up where EP1 left off, pulsing
buzzing hiss over squeal instruments and distant melodies, pounding video
game big beats over buzzes and bleeps and blips, creepy rumbly ambience,
spacey drones and hypnotic pulses, and a super spare 10 minute final track
of minimal blips and clicks, pulses and whirrs that are occasionally
overtaken by insectoid buzz and gorgeous minor key synth washes".
................Andee
Connors, Aquarius Records, US, June 05 2002
"You'd
be hard pushed to realise that samples from classical music form the core
of the second Illuminati EP, as they've mostly been utterly distorted and
pulverised beyond recognition. A middle aged electrician commented that
this reminded him of Soft Machine which is odd because Dave Clarkson of
Illuminati and Planetsounds is a big fan of theirs, but I'd never have
thought it was something that sounded similar. When I mentioned the
comparison to Dave he asked if it was the third track, "Glass Box
Trap" which chucks a melodic keyboard jitter over thrumming double
drone backbone, and a nasal voice muttering disgruntled and nebulous. If I
was going to fling comparisons at Illuminati though I'd have to mention
Throbbing Gristle, particularly "DOA," but I think I did that
with the first EP. This one has the same picture on the cover, but
inverted to negative and in some ways this a darker and more menacing
trip. A deep singular pulse beat opens the strange door onto a microscope
resolution for "Midget Germs" which vibrate ominously in hell
spawned misery. Feedback screams and muffled moans punctuate this tortured
cancerous eyeball injection. The poor germs don't stand a chance when "Argenteum
Atavism" squirts beatnoise bleach all over them. Crunching along in
hectic overloaded abandon, this is what it might sound like if Aphex Twin
tried to put one over on Non. Just as the melody creeps in one final crash
collapses into semi-ambient bleepscape gurgling. The fourth and final
track swings "The Strange Door" shut and desperate knocking can
be heard from outside as the germs shut outside slowly fizzle to their
demise, and a new dawn of lush angelic keyboard bursts across the
blackened sky. Distant thunder rumbles".
……………Graeme
Rowland, Brainwashed
on-line, June 02 2002.