Cordell Klier – Apparitions

“Apparitions” is Cordell Klier’s first release under his own name. He has been active in the experimental music scene for a while with his label Doctsect and the noise projects Vidisni and Kreptkrept. Klier’s debut is mastered by C-Drik, a performance artist who is known from several industrial projects including Ambre (with Olivier Moreau/Imminent and John Sellekaers/Xingu Hill), Axiome (also with Moreau) and Ammo (with Sellekaers).

The digipak-CD presents 13 abstract, minimal electronic/experimental ambient compositions. Yes, indeed this means that Cordell produces music that is far from easy. On the foreground you have to suffer sharp, splintered sounds; sometimes structured sometimes sudden. Frequencies pitched so high that they hurt your ears interfere with blips and bleeps, glitches, hazy samples, noise. A whole new genre arose from this style of composing: clicks ‘n’ cuts. (The Mille Plateaux Samplers can be a nice introduction.) In the background a Lustmord-like bass drone floats now and then through. When the music finally comes to a point, the track skips forward a la Autechre LP5 and rhytm once again becomes random.

But the nice thing about this release is that Klier creates organic atmospheres behind the nervous and sterile clicks ‘n’ cuts. The title and theme “Apparations” is striking because the mood is rather dark and spooky. The unpleasant calmness of deep nighmare drones can at any time being broken by the sound of a ghost getting electrocuted. People who play this album at maximum volume should have strong nerves.

artist: Cordell Klier
label: Ad Noiseam
details: 13 tracks, 44 minutes