Des Esseintes / E.P.A. – AZ50HD

When you think of power electronics you think of over the top noise and raw vocals. Fin de Siècle Media is maybe not a true power electronics label but their
releases are very powerful electronic music productions. Des Esseintes (the project by the label boss) might be called a power electronics act, although his compositions are more intelligent and complex then most music in this genre.

On this split cd with E.P.A. (alias of Shinjuku Thief) both artists reworked one track of each other. The result is that the electronic music of Des Esseintes is turned into even more complex matter with some added noisy touches. E.P.A.’s harsh track ‘With Shredding Rubber’ is made into a more subtle and calm piece of dark ambient.

Both the reworked tracks are also present in its original form. Together with the new versions they make up for an interesting EP with twenty minutes of intense electronic music.
MvG

Des Esseintes and E.P.A. might not be the most well known names in the world of power electronics and noise. But when one mentions that Magnus Sundström (The Protagonist) and Darrin Verhagen (Shinjuku Thief) are the masterminds behind the respective acts, one will recognize that this split E.P. might be of great interest.

Both artists have contributed two tracks to this cd, and remixed one of the tracks the other contributed. The result is a cd full of noise and power-electronics of high quality. Darrin Verhagen has used his Shinjuku Thief alias to remix “Due” by Des Esseintes and gave it a more orchestral and dramatic feel, that really becomes different than the power electronics of the original song. Des Esseintes own remix of their song “Residue” shows us that DE can really go into depths with their power electronics. The Des Esseintes Recap of E.P.A.’s “With Shredding Rubber” treats us to some harsh power electronics, in a recap that is both just a bit more structured and much shorter then the original track. It is this original track that closes the CD 13 minutes of E.P.A.’s noise in a great track, that nonetheless might have been just about 2 to 3 minutes shorter to keep the interest of the listener.

Resuming this is a cd full of power-electronics and noise by people who know what they are talking about. A CD that is well worth listening to.
Ikecht

artist: Des Esseintes
label: Fin De Siècle Media
details: 2005, 4 tracks [fds 11]