Monstrum Sepsis
Deep Sea Creatures (WTII)
by Ewan Wadharmi
Most electronic music registers in your head. Like most good music, Deep Sea Creatures reverberates in your chest. Tension brought on by conflicting layers of sound increases the excitement level on each tune. Every sound introduced morphs and phases into a 3-D attacker or ally. Overall, it’s a morose tone completely devoid of singing crustaceans. The title isn’t even necessary to decipher the theme of these wet programmed instrumentals peppered with movie clips. It begins with a voyage under the depths. “B-spline Interface” explores the vastness of the sea from the bowels of a submarine via clicks and bleeps. The expanse of ocean is forgotten as the confinement of your immediate surroundings creates a sudden static panic. You’ll clean the disc several times before accepting that the freakout is intentional. “DSC” feels a like one of Bowie’s newer songs done in soothing strings and nail-biting oscilloscope sounds. It’s like taking Sleep-EZ with No-doz and letting them fight it out.
Classical piano ripples through “Rainbow Obsidian” right into the buzzing thrill of “Doors & Windows.” Violins ground the bouncing synths, while some Limey gives the captain’s log of some doomed sea-going vessel. Eventually, all disappears in the mist. “Sangine Vexation” is more machine-like. Varieties of moods weave through a Kraftwerk sounding piece, each taking its turn at the forefront. What sounds like a sample from “The Wild Angels” provides the narrative. The more predictable beat of “Peacewar” is softened by fuzz and outside banging to keep the guys from The Roxbury off the dance floor. Android Lust’s singer Shikhee lends her creepy whisper to “Tantric Presentiment.” A Pong soundtrack that opts for the clichéd heartbeat those techies rely on far too much.
As advertised, the redundantly titled “Mirrored Reflection” is itself a bit repetitive, but not annoyingly so. Scratchy streams of electrons swim through bits of war movies. A simple melody is passed off from synths to keyboards to strings with enough shifting around it to keep it interesting. A little back-masking in “Painkiller” gives a bubbled, underwater feel. Voices are manipulated into otherworldly gargles. Slowed and morphed into an IV drip. “Mace” is a nearly tribal piece focused on atomic warfare. It brings to mind the Einstein quote used in a previous song, “The fourth world war will be fought with sticks and stones.” The excitement is compounded by heavy beats with varied emphasis.
Monstrum Sepsis take a mature approach to their compositions by using themes, motifs, and movements. The machine sounds are all tended to, and never leaned on for the entire effect. By taking care that the programming doesn’t take the place of musicianship, the artists make themselves known. The soundtrack created is conducive to raver freakouts, Star-con geekouts, Gothic shooting galleries, and Ford Focus driving.
(PO Box 13495 Chicago, IL 60613)
