Text: Mikko A
Photos: Vorogography
Video: Mikko A (except BU/G by SSRI)
COMPILATION VIDEO OF EVENT HERE
I have seen Pseudokommando couple of times. First appeared in form of invite only private show and then he has been making public performances. What makes it interesting is lack of releases! At least in Finland, most of the projects start with doing something physical and concrete, putting out a releases that establishes the name and style into public. Only after that most hit the stage. Of course there are exception. With Pseudokommando, it has been advantage that he has allowed style and approach to mature a bit. From early experiments to this latest gig, his stage presence as well as style have taken leaps forward.
Now technical approach is closer to industrial noise/pe bands of the 90’s. Meaning that the core of songs comes from backing tapes. Providing firm pre-planned structure and correct balance. On top of it, contact mic’ed metal object, vocals that are delivered like speech or statement. Mild reverb on otherwise clean vocal sound. Often atmospheric as opposed to violent and noisy. Set ended with long piece of Philip Glass music sampled, which seemed a bit weird. Conceptually could be justified, but mr. Glass has such a trademark style that using his work as part of own material makes me wonder can you sort of… make it your own, in same way as sampling something less identifiable? Of course, Pseudokommando style as it is now, belongs to Euro industrial sound tradition, where thematically selected sources may be the thing itself! Regardless of motivation, it was neat ending for the set!
Vigilantism started as sort of spin-off from Edge of Decay. Couple first CD’s was on Freak Animal Records and then band has made full length albums via international labels. Some of his more rhythmic and industrial music leaning material has not been something I felt suitable for FA as a label, but project has progressed further. All the recent live shows and some new unreleased recordings I have heard, has been excellent. Compared to recent show in Helsinki, now he was face to audience and seemed more comfortable on stage. Good vocal sound and heavy layers of synth oscillation is certainly in tradition of heavy electronics sound, but can you complain if there isn’t masses of other artists doing the same thing anymore? I would go as far as saying the vocal sound and balance has been exceptionally good! Sticking on traditions of ”genre sound” could be angle of criticism, yet in current age you are not hearing a lot of this type of stuff in Finland!
KSNK has many shapes and styles. In recent times, there has been anomaly in his ever-changing approach, that after Murska CD he did Murska 2 tape. First time going on route of giving ”more of the same”. I have absolutely no complains and feel like Murska 3 or something in this direction would be most welcome. Live show was basically that. Set started with playing sounds of machines crushing stones. It would be like formerly mentioned releases. Textured, excellent physicality of stone destruction and mechanical feel of this process. Minimal in a way, but so detailed in texture. Eventually changing his gear and moving into other things that wasn’t as successful in sound, but underlined the KSNK approach of risky live approach. It may work, or doesn’t. No back-up plans. Despite set didn’t end into high note, so to say, it was very good.
Bizarre Uproar & Grunt live is related to yet-to-be-published new collaboration work. Both artists has been active since 92/93, closely associated together. Grunt was featured in line-up of very first Bizarre Uproar live gig. There has been couple remix/collaboration type of things, but it really took about 30 years to actually collaborate in a way that there is real interaction and full album length. ”Toinen Iho” CD was perhaps unexpected collaboration. Next collaboration album has been under work already before live collaboration was planned. Thematically and sonically these are bleeding into each other. With this live show, most of the backbone came from Bizarre Uproar. He set the firm painful repetitive background build mostly from loops. Layer after layer was laid down before Grunt added touch of live noise and manipulation & processing BU’s sound through Grunt gear. Each project doing vocals, depending what song was being played. Despite studio collaboration has been under work for a while, due distance, there had not been any actual physical rehearsals before this live. Both rehearsing by themselves for pre-planned set. Since everything was played live, it was almost surprising how close according to the plans it went. Perhaps vocals had louder attacks than intended and other such minor things.
Sutcliffe No More played in Finland last year. Show ended abruptly due electric shortcut. They wanted to make quick return to play the full length set. So this was it. What we got, was probably c. one hour of SNM assault. Starting with full blast, occasionally calming down a bit. Mixing aggressive and atmospheric very well. I had told people before that band has tendency to intensify during the set. If you see just couple songs from the beginning, it is not the full experience. You really need to see how they are able to elevate things higher and more intense, including the physical action.
Mixing together fierce electronics and more experimental sounds works in set as long as this. In recent times, Sutcliffe No More Campaign 2024 was pretty harsh and violent ”back to basics” album where they displayed ability to take it to sheer violence if they want. This album is good, but I have also grown to like many of their less aggressive darker material. Using more playful and colorful electronics has been trademark of later era of SJ as well as SNM. We heard plenty of that. Kind of wonky and busy fingering of electronic gadgets that would create chaotic and busy sounds, but not really loudly violent like traditional microphone feedback.
The British PE tradition, where detailed lyrics and sharply pronounced vocals hit hard. SNM combines some of the ”industrial music” singing voice, something not that far from even TG ”very friendly” or such. There would not be melody per se, but tonality and sense of timing, intensity and overall delivery. From menacing talking to hysterical shrieking. What makes SNM stand out, is how vile and dark the lyrics are and how clear the vocals are. If early days SJ is unbeatable in sheer violence of the sound and screaming, latter days SJ and SNM is far more vicious and malicious due the lyrics. It is literally dark, often being literally more descriptive than merely have loud noise titles We Spit On Their Graves. Now the vulgar vocals are in-your-face. I am not the guy who gets offended easily. It might be that there is no such level of obscene vulgarity that would be honestly offensive, but it does create the sense of negative energy, violation and dehumanization in a way that it may no longer be like ”haha! Nice one, guys!”, but having true impact. This is rare feature in genre.
After the gig, fairly soon loaded van with gear and collected van full of people to drive everybody to the city. Blasting skinhead rock songs from car sound system for general excitement and lifting spirits and then quick parking and running into bar. Night had ended early on, so there was still time, maybe even 5 hours to start pour in beer and have discussions with people, Finnish, Germans, Swedes,..
To keep up with noise related liveshows in Finland, one good source is:
https://special-interests.net/forum/index.php?topic=13946.0
