Freaky Chakra vs. Single Cell Orchestra

(Astralwerks)
by Joshua Brown

Daum Bentley, aka Freaky Chakra, and Miguel Angelo Fierro, aka Single Cell Orchestra, are two of San Francisco’s hottest techno acts. Alone, either artist overshadows scores of knob twiddlers with confident spontaneity and a refusal to stick with one style of electronica, whether it’s bangin’ techno, drum `n’ bass, low-to-the-ground funk, or airy, free floating ambient.With their collaboration, F.C. Vs. S.C.O., these two long-time friends push the boundaries of their own and each other’s sounds. In the tradition of dub soundclashes, Bentley and Fierro set up their equipment opposite each other and run their improvised throb-a-thons through a DJ mixer, bobbing and weaving, forcing each other into altered musical states. Think of invisible divine fingers on the wheels of steel, spinning records that reinvent themselves. Or, think of the end of Ghostbusters when the admonition to “never cross the streams” is ignored, and New York City is rescued from an evil menace. Or maybe these comparisons are just silly. Whatever. It’s a great album.