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synapscape. raw. cd. ant-zen act137
tracklist: disrevieled, sorrow, anti part, my distance, narcotica, 3rd in the orbit, bushhead, so real, cannes, disorder, e.s.p., stop yield, outside, once again you die, peter the repeater, walls and needles.
'raw' is the fifth full length synapscape release. it contains a variety of works that they did between 1994 and 2001 - most tracks have never been released before. this cd also contains three long-deleted compilation tracks that up until now could only be heard by a few people.
reviews:
gothic beauty
if you like noise, then you will really love raw noise power. seriously, this album provides one thing and one thing only. and that one thing is a whole lotta noise. if there were any more noise on this album, it would be a little too noisy in here. now, moving on to the next track in this collection of 16... raw provides a means of escape from the cacophony of the real world and into a torrential blustering expression of noise leaning toward the angry aggressive side of homicidal tendencies. primal muttering rage interspersed with frequency changes along the radio dial joins with syncopated drum beats shattered by experimental noise lunch breaks. contagious tribal, trip-stomp music made for all those folks who work 80 hours a week and just need to unwind. the further we get into this album, the more i realise just how much symmetry is wrapped up inside each and every track. safer than drugs. music for isolated trips of disturbance.
sonic seducer
großreinemachen bei synapscape: tim & philipp durchwühlen die archive und fertig ist 'raw'. der titel könnte kaum besser sitzen, präsentieren sich die beiden hier von ihrer rauheren seite, die manchen, der nur den einen oder anderen eingängigeren synapscape track kennt, ziemlich überraschen dürfte.trotzdem zeigen nummern wie 'my distance' oder 'disorder' sehr anschaulich die entwicklung der beiden in richtung intelligenter rhythm noise, der bei aller brachalität immer noch platz für zwischentöne bereithält. für manch nachgewachsenen akt mag es deshalb bitter klingen aber vieles von dem, was derzeit den markt überflutet, haben synapscape in der letzten dekade bereits deutlich anspruchsvoller hinbekommen.
(sascha bertoncin)
vital weekly
hissing drones opens this over-the-top voyage into the back-catalogue of german harsh-industrialists in synapscape. responsible for the very first release on german label ant-zen recordings, synapscape was one of the true pioneers of the power-noise-sound that first of all characterizes the style of ant zen recordings. when listening to some of the earlier works by synapscape, it soon becomes clear that the sound of old-school industrial shines through the thick walls of noisy electronics. especially when the second track on the album titled "sorrow" (1994) outbursts, associations of whitehouse penetrate, thanks to the rumbling power electronics moving ahead like rhythm-less machines of extreme aggression (not surprising since whitehouse masterwork "erector" released in 1981, has been considered the first power electronics-album ever) while some moments of "raw" deliver subdued noise-drones suppressed by heavily distorted rhythms, other tracks let the drones of noisy power electronics rise from the sub-level into the centre of the listener. looking back to the first seven years of synapscape, "raw" delivers everything that make synapscape sound like they do today: explosive rhythmic textures, industrial soundscapes of beauty and ugliness as well as mysterious and not too friendly vocals. in that sense "raw" is a great synapscape-anthology and with the additional never-released materials, the album should keep us well entertained until next opus from this legendary power-noise act see the daylight.
(nmp)
seven
over the past eight years, right at the beginning, when s.alt founded ant-zen records, synapscape has been extremely involved in challenging power electronics, rhythm 'n' noise, and dark ambient scenes both live and in studio. synapscape never takes the standard catchy pathways that so many bands often latch onto for what seems like a lifetime. instead, they pursue experimental electronic forms, always remaining one step ahead. with this release they present 16 previously unreleased tracks (appeared between 1994-2001) that confirm this position (in addition, this release contains three tracks that originally appeared on some very rare compilations). i have been fortunate enough to witness synapscape live twice so far, and i can say that they put on such killer live show that at times make their own releases seem weak. is appears as if with this compilation they might have actually performed some of this rare material live - it is that intense. some strong examples of their diversified nature lie within tracks such as 'sorrow', 'my distance', '3rd in orbit', 'bushhead', 'disorder', 'once again you die', and 'peter the repeater'. track 2, 'sorrow' traumatizes you with extremely hostile and toxic vocals assaults within a shroud of distant harsh twisted frequencies. 'my distance' throws down some very addictive rhythmic structures that pace steadily with kniep's severed vocal pathways. a solid example of their dark surrealistic atmospheres can be found within tracks such as '3rd in orbit'. while tracks such as 'bushhead' give us a live awakening to a menagerie of entangled industrial, jungle, and tribal beats that diverge along frozen frequencies waves. track ten, 'disorder' shows more punchy, dub-like synthetic rhythms that layer at a fast pace while subtle bass pulses and twisted frequencies follow. with 'once again you die' militant ebm-esq beat structures march steadily as kniep's vocals charge forward with tremendous force. and somewhat recent (2001) tracks such as 'peter the repeater' immerse you into more complex disorganized rhythmics and disturbing vocals interludes that viciously accent this very volatile track. relentless, brute, hazardous, energetic, repulsive, and simply powerful stuff. this is now one of my favorite synapscape releases to date. the versatility of material is the best representation of their directions. if there is one synapscape release i can suggest to you to look into, this would be it.
(alan)
neural.it
tornano su ant-zen tim kniep e philipp münch, ovvero synapscape, che con il loro album di debutto diedero inizio nel 1995 alle uscite di questa interessantissima, non convenzionale label e sono qui raccolti tutti i principali lavori prodotti tra il 1994 ed il 2001, comprese fra registrazioni inedite tre tracce gia uscite in precedenti raccolte. i suoni, nello stile del gruppo, risultano aspri, duri, d'impronta industriale, con molte linee ritmiche sovrapposte, permeati da vocal misteriosi (corrosivi e malsani). non mancano interpretazioni ambientali, passaggi evocativi ed elettronici, con venature fortemente space, '3rd in the orbit', ad esempio, oppure 'e.s.p.', maggiormente calibrato su un registro tutto celebrale. 'peter the repeater' nelle battute insistite, svelte, confina con i territori paralleli della techno obliqua e irriverente mentre 'walls and needles' inclina le attitudini cosmiche su battute piu diritte e con cadenza scandite. un gruppo di culto, che con la pubblicazione di questo materiale meglio delinea le proprie linee d'azione.
(aurelio cianciotta)
side-line
synapscape opened the vaults to their archive and picked out unreleased and hard to get tracks that span from 1994-2001. one of the mainstays of ant-zen, and along with pal defining the initial sound of ant-zen with their mix of hard, rhythmic electronics and grating ambient soundscapes, synapscape compiled these songs like a chronological album. starting with dark, brooding ambient they go into straight, rhythmic tracks with lots of abrasive, swirling noise and move into more clear electronic tracks with occasional noise bursts, somehow illustrating their musical voyage up to this point. in between they change styles again and put a swirling, almost new agey track like '3rd in the orbit' beside stompy stuff like 'narcotica' for example. the stylistic bandwidth of synapscape, owing much to their beginnings as ars moriendi, and manifesting itself in their many sideprojects, displays a wealth of ideas and emotional states. dub meets ritual, industrial meets dancefloor, ambient meets noise, they are all over the place, but somehow you can always spot this seething, unbridled energy underneath it all that comes out as rhythmic pulse. this compilation is mainly meant for the fans, and some of the tracks do show age and an old patina of outdated sound approaches, but it never tried to be more. itıs like a look into a workshop with all the debris and leftover materials on the floor, all the burr still on the unfinished products. i guess raw is the word.
(till)
der medienkonverter
tim kniep und philipp münch alias synapscape kann man wahrlich nicht zu den unbedeutenden künstlern der industrial/noise-szene rechnen. sowohl synapscape als auch die verschiedenen projekte (wie z.b. ars moriendi, blendwerk oder templegarden's), an denen sie beteiligt sind, dürften vielen bekannt sein. ihr fünfter longplayer 'raw' enthält verschiedene, meist noch unveröffentlichte songs, die zwischen 1994 und 2001 entstanden sind. darunter sind auch einige sampler-beiträge, an die bis jetzt nur schwer heranzukommen war.
so zahlreich wie die jahre, über die die songs geschrieben wurden, so groß ist auch ihre vielfalt. mit 'disrevieled' und 'sorrow' beginnt das album noch eher gedämpft und monoton. letzterem hört man sein alter (von 1994) an, klingt er doch noch nicht ganz so geballt und kraftvoll, wie das spätere material. den direkten vergleich kann man gleich mit dem darauf folgenden und fünf jahre jüngeren 'anti part' ziehen. extrem druckvoll und mit metallenen beats geht's hier richtig zur sache. gerade diese unterschiede aus dem musikalischen überblick über 7 Jahre synapscape machen 'raw' so interessant.
wie schon die vorgängeralben so ist auch 'raw' nicht unbedingt etwas für jedermann sondern setzt seine eigenen maßstäbe. für die einen wird es nur willenloser krach sein, für andere die offenbarung. wer sich diesem album langsam nähern will, sollte mit '3rd in the orbit' beginnen und sich von da an durch die cd hören. ab diesem track geht es etwas ruhiger zu und der geneigte aber noch unwissende hörer wird nicht gleich ins kalte wasser gestürzt. einziges manko ist der gesang. zwar passt die verzerrte stimme optimal zu den songs, nur mit dem verstehen gibt es so einige probleme. hier muss man schon einige konzentration aufwenden.
wer einmal den zugang zu 'raw' gefunden hat, wird die vielschichtigkeit der einzelnen songs erkennen und immer wieder Neues entdecken. also nichts wie ab in dieses abenteuer surrealistischer, elektronischer klänge!
(veit)
recycleyourears
while i had thoroughfully enjoyed their first two albums, synapscape had let me in the cold with their 'so what' and 'positive pop' albums, and i therefore didn't know what to think when i read about this new 'raw' cd, a retrospective of unreleased or rare tracks. featuring tracks dating back from 1994 (before the release of their 1995 untitled album) to 2001 ('positive pop' era), and using the same basic layout as their first sleeves, this 'raw' was promising to be both sweet and sour.
first impression: 'raw' is, well... rawer than what one could have got used to with synapscape lately. I guess this isn't too surprising, considering the age of the tracks. some tracks are almost arhythmic and contain pretty harsh distorted vocals, and even the more beat-driven tracks (the great 'my distance', for example, which I know I have heard somewhere else, but I don't remember where) are harder and more compact than their counterparts on 'positive pop'. moreover, part of this new cd have the same slightly 'spherical' sound that synapscape had when they debutted, playing a lot with pan effects and cut out frequencies. Still, the sound is quite good and the compositions stick well together, so that you don't get the impression of constantly jumping forward and backward in their discography.
overall heavier and definitely less user friendly than the new material, but still quite upbeat sometimes ('peter the repeater'), 'raw' could well be the missing link between 'rage' and 'so what', mixing the first's cloudy distortion and beats with the latter's slightly more spaced out atmospheres. all in all, I end up being reconciliated with synapscape, which have definitely have had their very good moments, and put them on display once again. it's no wonder anymore, when you listen to this album, that they ended up being one of the core bands who brought rhythmic noise to its current recognition. finally, 'raw' is a good cd and an adequate initiative, that i would recommend over more recent output by this band. what about a new album that would go back to these roots?
industrialkollective
I seem to recall this point in time, long ago, when the words "I like Industrial music" didn't mean "I like Depeche Mode and bands that sound like Depeche Mode."
This pops into my head while I am listening to the latest Synapscape release, their 5th, which is actually a collection of their earlier works; some never heard before, some only available on now long out of print compilations.
Listening to this raw angry distorted album makes me wonder what the fuck Synapscape think they are doing. This doesn't sound anything like the simplistic pop music that we are now forced to call modern-industrial. People can't shift easily from hearing Synapscape's intensely dark ambient soundscapes to the latest alt-pop techno hybrid. These new cybergoths won't even be able to appreciate other tracks on the release, despite a theoretical dance floor appeal. Contagious aggressive beats and distorted yelling would seem to be the formula for great industrial dance club music, but the 'how much does it sound like depeche mode?' question factors in, leaving us to discover that a DJ would have to be insane to play Synapscape.
Of course, in a insane world, where people who listeneded to Industrial music actually listened to Industrial music, this album would be awesome. Because it is a compilation of tracks, it doesn't quite have the full flow of earlier albums, especially Synapscape's masterpiece So What!, but as a look back at their earlier works, it's great.