http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2011/08/sometimes-i-kiss-you-not-to-hear-you-speak-margaret-chardiets-pharmakon.html
(http://blog.wfmu.org/.a/6a00d83451c29169e2015390eccfc2970b-120wi)
lets make this as PHARMAKON topic in general. New CD?! Anyone?! I don't remember single comment about it!
Sacred Bones Records put out LP/CD/digital file. Never been in touch with label, but I guess I should as I haven't really seen copies circulating anywhere...?
Quote from: FreakAnimalFinland on September 01, 2013, 02:45:39 PM
New CD?! Anyone?!
Just my plebeian opinion (and not too familiar with her work), but versus the label brief and all the praising reviews...this did nothing for me. A regular beef of mine, its PE that's too song-based, too much ego-centered and the vocals are just blah-shrieks. Sounds themselves have some moments, but nothing worth returning to. But, it's on Sacred Bones, and they receive endless praise so I'm sure we'll see lots of "top 10 album of the year" since so many folks will grab this from Insound, Amazon and Boomkat.
Quote from: eyestrain on September 02, 2013, 01:27:18 AMJust my plebeian opinion (and not too familiar with her work), but versus the label brief and all the praising reviews...this did nothing for me. A regular beef of mine, its PE that's too song-based, too much ego-centered and the vocals are just blah-shrieks. Sounds themselves have some moments, but nothing worth returning to. But, it's on Sacred Bones, and they receive endless praise so I'm sure we'll see lots of "top 10 album of the year" since so many folks will grab this from Insound, Amazon and Boomkat.
Very much agreed. I had to laugh at all the reviews along the lines of "this is actually highly
composed and no random freeform racket" when compositionally it's pretty simplistic, which is no bad thing in itself but why pretend it's so much more accomplished than something more structurally loose (which is no bad thing in itself either). Some decent sounds on it and I do like her voice, especially when it's less processed, but totally undeserving of crossover success when compared to better albums, though all my problems with it are probably why it has enjoyed the coverage it has gotten.
I am yet to hear Pharmakon but the interview she did with some bullshit online mag (probaby Pitchfork) was good.
There is a big hype going on about this project. That short interview/article in Pitchfork made people click her soundcloud sample 100.000+ times : ) ...
The track "Crawling On Bruised Knees" is amazing, but the rest of the album is in my opinion rather uninspired "scream drone".
https://soundcloud.com/sacredbones/pharmakon-crawling-on-bruised
Fact: Good looking girl screaming around turns people on ...
Quote from: fin de siècle on September 02, 2013, 12:25:40 PM
Fact: Good looking girl screaming around turns people on ...
This sums up my feelings about the project's hype
There's the Pitchfork interview: http://pitchfork.com/features/rising/9091-pharmakon/
Got an mp3 of the album, was gonna review it at Heathen Harvest, but someone pipped me to it, will play it as I have it on my 'to listen to' list..
It's really good in parts, there are some big dramatic build ups, but in other parts I didn't like it as much , I'd like to hear some earlier material and gain a bigger picture.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYUjjWaQgVo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYUjjWaQgVo)
My favorite Pharmakon and probably her noisiest track, also collaboration with Work/Death is highly suggested.
I was fan when I first saw her at her first show so maybe I'm bias, but I love her live presence. What she hasn't put on record but has performed live has driven me crazy, especially things she was doing early last year. I played Abandon a number of times and enjoy it but I like the cdrs better. I have to say though I saw her perform Abandon is a very good PA and a very bad PA, and honestly I prefered the bad PA performance to her chagrin. It's very clean production for a death industrial album, perhaps if rerecord on to gained out tape deck i would like it a lot more.
"Crawling On Bruised Knees" just sounds like a dubstep intro that never drops. :D
I don't think anyone has done that. Reading through the thread most people seem to have listened to the entire record and are just using youtube clips as reference points.
But yes, the 'attractive female' aspect of a project like this will, sadly, serve as an equal foundation for both its hype and dismissal.
There is always a lot of people, who will have some sort of reasoning why people listen to stuff, what is supposedly the wrong reason. Be it band who comes from Japan, bands who has swastika on tape cover, band who has grotesque porn in cover, or someone happens to be woman, band what is old and therefore only gets attention because of nostalgia, etc etc. And conclusion is that "people wouldn't care about if it was just the music".
Yet reality remains that it hardly ever just music, and it doesn't need to be rational. Something caught our attention, while dozens of others didn't. As I'm not in facebook, nor take part in other forums (after noisefanatics ended don't see much noise talk elsewhere), nor I follow any "indie media", so I was quite unaware of any hype surrounding Pharmakon album. Seen exactly zero comments, haven't seen on noise/industrial labels lists etc.
I have personally felt that Pharmakon sound has always been plagued by too obvious digital effects, and has very clean "line in" sound. Sometimes even glitchy. However, I'm curious to check out full album if there are qualities that allow to get over the style sound. I'm quite sure it improves greatly in live situation with loud & dirtier sound.
I think any noise band who manages to cross over the tiny circles of noisescene - by whatever means - is welcomed! I'm sure some people were cautious of Merzbow being promoted to metalheads by metal label, but ended up contributing strongly to creation of new generation of noise fans.
Quote from: FreakAnimalFinland on September 09, 2013, 09:24:19 AM
Yet reality remains that it hardly ever just music
I think mileage will vary for a given value of "sustained interest", no pun obviously intended.
And there are some damned lengthy youtube clips.
I like the LP, I'd like to hear more material... I have the split with Deterge and the Pharmakon side doesn't do a lot for me, but then flip it over to Deterge's side and it crushes Pharmakon's material, ha. Saw Pharmakon live on that Lust For Youth tour, and it sounded good. Especially in the shitty enviornment/last minute set up... She looked mentally exhausted after the set.
I'm bemused by female fronted p.e.
Well, it's like male-fronted PE but there's a woman yelling over on a synth with some keys taped down, rather than a man. Hope that clears it up for you.
Besides Pharmakon, there's Puce Mary and Sewer Goddess.
Even at the beginning of PE in Britain in the early 80's there was Fistfuck, though that is pretty obscure if it wasn't for the fact Diana from NWW was in it.
Rosemary Malign did a lot of vicious and cruel sounding PE with very effective vocals, both solo and with the Eugenics Council. Her work is undervalued.
On the subject of local ladies who do the lads proud, just found a Soundcloud for Mourning Sickness (now defunct):
Studio and live versions of "You Don't Have To Say Please" (1988)
https://soundcloud.com/mourningsickness/you-dont-have-to-say-please
https://soundcloud.com/mourningsickness/you-dont-have-to-say-please-live
I think I prefer the latter (live) as the vocalist sounds like she really means it*. This song was apparently in response to an obscene phone-call, which may in fact be the bit sampled at the start.
*EDIT plus the apparent subject, that of anally fisting a "pretty boy", comes out a bit clearer
Forest Swords, The Haxan Cloak and PHARMAKON performing in Finland november 28th @ Ääniwalli.
http://www.last.fm/event/3688461+Forest+Swords+at+%C3%84%C3%A4niwalli+on+28+November+2013
https://www.facebook.com/Aaniwalli
Quote from: redswordwhiteplough on September 12, 2013, 01:26:37 PM
Forest Swords, The Haxan Cloak and PHARMAKON performing in Finland november 28th @ Ääniwalli.
http://www.last.fm/event/3688461+Forest+Swords+at+%C3%84%C3%A4niwalli+on+28+November+2013
https://www.facebook.com/Aaniwalli
neat!
Quote from: Cementimental on September 11, 2013, 10:40:00 AM
Well, it's like male-fronted PE but there's a woman yelling over on a synth with some keys taped down, rather than a man. Hope that clears it up for you.
I never liked any of the older stuff too much, it was too Black Metal/P.E. or something. I really liked Abandon though, and when I saw her in August it was really good.
Quote from: HongKongGoolagong on September 11, 2013, 02:45:29 PM
Rosemary Malign did a lot of vicious and cruel sounding PE with very effective vocals, both solo and with the Eugenics Council. Her work is undervalued.
Truth.
Quote from: bitewerksMTB on September 12, 2013, 10:01:29 PM
That Mourning Sickness is awful.
Hehe, well I never said it sounded good; definitely more Karen Finley than Wm Bennet. But the band was pretty obscure even in its "heyday", which leads me to suspect such things are/were more common than is generally acknowledged. I'll concede this may be wishful thinking.
Quote from: Bloated Slutbag on September 13, 2013, 02:19:53 AMBut the band was pretty obscure even in its "heyday", which leads me to suspect such things are/were more common than is generally acknowledged.
Such things, namely, efforts at power electronics by women with no direct relation to the shit. I mean it's one thing to set out at establishing oneself in a given field of exploration – in this case pe – but it's quite another to effect the quintessential one-off simply because that kind of thing is/was not nearly as unheard of as some might have it.
One could nevertheless draw links from the likes of Deborah Jaffe / Master/Slave Relationship, who was putting out work that might qualify back in the mid 80s:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXg4vKvxQkk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI3lBjM8ieQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX-yujbLRPA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNaRynx1EWc
(the last one mostly for the nicely added visuals though sound does improve somewhat toward the end.)
Hmm. And now that I mention it, Bennet often comes off as rather bitchy...
As for Mourning Sickness, it's hard no to smile at something like this:
http://archive.org/details/freewhores
"Whore power!"
I know this is an old thread, but this doesn't warrant a new topic of it's own and this seemed the most relevant place for it:
http://www.stereogum.com/1674464/pharmakon-bang-bang-my-baby-shot-me-down-nancy-sinatra-cover/mp3s/
http://pitchfork.com/news/54703-pharmakon-covers-chernancy-sinatra-song-bang-bang-my-baby-shot-me-down/
apparently premiered on NPR. not really power-electronics or industrial at all anymore, curious if this will be indicative of a more permanent shift or just a one-track tangent...
Quote from: chibitachop on April 09, 2014, 06:57:36 AM
apparently premiered on NPR. not really power-electronics or industrial at all anymore, curious if this will be indicative of a more permanent shift or just a one-track tangent...
I saw her play with Godflesh last week with all new material. I'd say the material is less restrained than on Abandon but then again the dynamic is always very different live as stated before. There is one song where she actually sings, I think it works very well, though not as Jarboesque as the cover.
I bought the Abandon LP and think it's pretty cool. It gets routine spins 'round these parts.
The new cover track? Actually kind of interesting. I'd, at the very least be curious to see where she takes things from here.
I like the record, it's so good I go back to it. and her live set is sick too.
Her new record Bestial burden is streaming on Pitchfork (http://pitchfork.com/advance/564-bestial-burden/). Her performance at Summer Scum this year was quite S&M heavy.
Was just listening to Abandon and Bestial Burden and although I thought it was the other way round, I liked Bestial Burden much more than Abandon. It's really good!
Quite curious what's next from Pharmakon. Anybody knows if there is already something in the works?
Quote from: cr on November 05, 2016, 06:49:02 PM
Quite curious what's next from Pharmakon. Anybody knows if there is already something in the works?
circumstantial evidence from couple months back indicating 'yes' https://www.instagram.com/p/BKRGUHZgT8Y/
She's an intelligent person who has done her part to avoid pageantry, for what it's worth.
I heard her work before I knew what she looked like, and she could have been overweight living with mum for all I know, her work stood on its own.
It doesn't strike me as too much "direct line" recording. I think it's sufficiently polished with a good balance of rawness. She even records in a studio before a small crowd to get the effect of live energy. I suppose there could be more feedback or amplified sources, but I don't use this is a basis for sincerity.
I happened to have a pretty good insight that would suggest she was signed based on her sounds alone, for the record.
I don't care to change peoples' minds, but I do find this work to be more meaningful/personal/artistically triumphant than much other work because it deals in power dynamics in more poetic ways than usual.... and that, too, is what makes it sink or swim with people.
In Chicago, there is this sort of "crabs in a bucket" dynamic, where people are either trying too hard, or not trying hard enough (poseurs), and I'm just nowhere near bored with this material.
If I wanted to talk trash, I'd name a list of people who are full of shit, making power electronics that they "don't know anything about", and I'd surely reference Steve Underwood's essay about the convoluted/contrived proliferation of people airing their "private obsessions", but if I did, Pharmakon would not be on it.
I've probably said this before, but her live set was excellent. It stands out more than any pedal tweaker I've seen. She was in your face, abrasive and definitely put people out of their comfort zone. I remember just being blown away by the show. She charged around with a mic just screaming in people's faces. I went with a friend who has no exposure to noise and he said it was one of the more uncomfortable things he'd ever seen. I took that as an extremely high compliment even if it wasn't intended as such.
I don't always come back to her records as often as I'd like to, but I'm definitely a huge fan.
I think Pharmakon is pretty great. A little clean for my taste these days but I was really into it when I first heard her stuff. Looking forward to more from her.
AS LOUD AS POSSIBLE (ISSUE ONE)
I'm in a minority, and even though I have often been told that I'm wrong, I consider Power Electronics to be something of a spent force which should have been left in a shallow roadside ditch some miles back. The only reliables are the long-termers, such Asp, Balisteri, Dando and Solotroff, who, like Bruce Lee before them, offer glimmers of hope to undisciplined imitators masquerading as badboys, who pull their bedroom mirror moves whilst securely decked out in military surplus, fan-boy t-shirts and topped with the obligatory peaked black cap. As sweeping generalisations go, it would seem that the ranks of these vanilla dullards are constantly being expanded by an influx of players recruited from the straight-jacketed ranks of the Hardcore and Metal circuses, where the flock mentality is the unwritten law, and imposing their one-size-fits-all scene regulations a hobby, It's this safety-in-numbers approach and scene molding that snuffs out unique, individual voice, miring us in a pit of the same old tired clichés and opinions. I want my PE to be delivered as a genuine insight into a particular artist's mindset, not by somebody with identification issues flaunting his supposedly 'private' 'obsessions' (which are, amazingly, the exact same as everybody else's on his mailing list) in front of his little playmates, unsure, unable or unwilling to stand on his own two feet, And I want some cold distance to the subject, coupled with a bit of vague mystery, both of which seem to be lacking from today's team-players. That's why the individual indiscretions of, say, George Michael are far more invigorating and interesting than the tedious clichés of the rock 'n' roll lifestyle exhibited by Montly Crue, doing exactly what they're expected to do in that position they hold.
It's unique, peculiar traits that separate the driven from the masses, fuelling a need that pushes the artist to do what he has to do without any concerns for recognition, let alone acceptance. Nobody in PE should be looking to bond, and nobody should be serious about asking others what their next move should be. Which piece of art is actually a genuine reflection of the artist is tough to pin down, and let's face it, 'authenticity' has always been the greatest deceiver in rock music, but still, contemporary PE, with its sad parody of needy attention-seeking scenesters stretches tolerance levels. Mine, anyway.
These dismal trollops will continue with their play-ground bravado, pushing and shoving each other around at shows, rallying their internet warrior buddies, naked and exposed with full decks dealt, at least until the big boys, watching from a distance, finally step out from behind the bikesheds and demand that the kids hand over their pocket-money. With Crowd Pleaser, that demand is finally made.
It would have been far too easy for somebody as highly regarded within PE's hierarchy as Philip Best to have bandied these recordings around any number of safehouse labels and demand his own terms, but it's a testament to the project's individuality and belief in self that the took the hard option oversaw the whole production on his own. It's given aid along the way from Mattin (who had to leave his philosophy books behind) and long-terms accomplice Gary Mundy, as well as the absolute craftsmanship of Rashad Becker during the mastering stage, which makes the whole album fucking bullet-proof.
They lyrical onslaught never lets up from the off, and is snarled out with a rapid-fire intensity. A constant stream of polemic, surging forward, switching from bitter to puzzled, but always lacking any trace of empathy whilst operating without a safety-net of buzzwords. The muzzled restraint which highlighted his work with the two most intriguing tracks on Whitehouse's Asceticist 2006 Album, and which every had expected for the No Fun Productions LP (Nobody's Ugly), is blown apart and the results are delivered with the most effective, fractures viciousness as record has hurled forth in a long time.
Side Two allows the librarian and wordsmith to stand aside and lets the musicians through. Like Nobody's Ugly, this features another highly precise instrumental construction which, whilst having none of the jagged shards strewn across it like the outbursts on the first side, builds on wailing tones and hits like a sneak-attacks from the SAS, in and out within a few minutes, Minimum fuss, maximum impact.
Steve Underwood
Quote from: holy ghost on November 06, 2016, 05:01:43 PM
I've probably said this before, but her live set was excellent. It stands out more than any pedal tweaker I've seen. She was in your face, abrasive and definitely put people out of their comfort zone. I remember just being blown away by the show. She charged around with a mic just screaming in people's faces. I went with a friend who has no exposure to noise and he said it was one of the more uncomfortable things he'd ever seen. I took that as an extremely high compliment even if it wasn't intended as such.
I don't always come back to her records as often as I'd like to, but I'm definitely a huge fan.
I have a very similar opinion. Had the opportunity to see her last year and it was great, completely in your face and abrasive as you mention, very "heavy" too. I liked her in the albums but it's a whole different thing live (much better?)
I'm glad she did a south american tour, we don't have many of this kind of projects/band from abroad playing here
Only listened to the tracks on YT, but new album Devour already seems to be the best Pharmakon yet. At least for my taste. Looking forward to get the physical release, hopefully next week.
Quote from: cr on August 31, 2019, 10:59:42 AM
Only listened to the tracks on YT, but new album Devour already seems to be the best Pharmakon yet. At least for my taste. Looking forward to get the physical release, hopefully next week.
I'm excited for it. I know a lot of people here don't rate her but she makes consistently great stuff in my opinion. great live act too
Quote from: totalabuse on November 08, 2016, 03:40:22 AM
AS LOUD AS POSSIBLE (ISSUE ONE)
Only me and my friends are real.
Steve Underwood