In a time of (over)consumption of information, of the digital swallowing up the world, and the world regurgitating a delirium of excesses, how many artistic proposals are really essential? And it’s worth clarifying the question: by essential we mean that rare sensation of arousing immediate admiration, of making us question what we experience, or of causing us amusement and terror, almost simultaneously. After all, much has been invented and reinvented and Gabber Modus Operandi doesn’t exactly offer a new universe. They do offer a new dimension, the like of which has not been heard for a long time – and which has been so lacking; it’s a diverse palette, as poisoned as it is heavenly, of extreme sounds and performances, in one of the most motherfucking incarnations of the times we live in. It’s a genuine riot by nature, of ancient and futuristic blood, erupting. It’s a punk delirium turbocharged by 4G and 90s rave memory. Or it could simply be one of those little miracles only witnessed from time to time.
Far from the so-called first art capitals of the world, it is from Indonesia that all this magic arrives. Irredeemably exotic to the eyes of an urban westerner, the truth is that Gabber Modus Operandi are part of a larger wave of sonic vanguardism coming from other parts of the globe. With a past connected to metal and industrial, passing through noise and techno, there were several projects and lives that the duo composed by the unstoppable Kasimyn and Ican Harem had until reaching this common chapter. Faithful to DIY teachings and sonic experimentation, trance is a state of mind, which seems to liberate and unite.
The raw productions, based on unrestrained rhythms (over 200 BPM) and raw noise, meet with echoes of traditional Indonesian music (where the gamelan and other percussions are heard in a surprising tone). To this dark matter add a vocal hurricane, often guttural and intense, evil as it could only be. HOXXXYA is the album that lands 2019 with more than deserved reverence. They’ve been burning up every stage they’ve passed through and to be able to experience, first-person, this kind of damage is too serious a thing for anyone with a need for life. NA