Published by Davide Pappalardo on December 18, 2017
Belief Defect are a new mysterious duo hailing from Germany, makers of an apocalyptic and dystopic brand of electronic music which fuses IDM, techno-industrial, downtempo, rhytmic noise, and much more into something sinister and brooding. They have made their debut recently during this year Berlin Atonal, and now they present to the world their excellent first album called Decadent yet depraved, licensed by Olaf Bender‘s (Signal, AG Geige, Diamond Version, Produkt) label Raster (an evolution of Raster-Noton). As already said, decadent and dark atmospheres are here to be found, moving amidst a modern and futuristic sound where ambient splinters, cold and lurching rhythms, technoise moments and eerie creepy voices concur to the unforgiving and nihilistic soundscapes of the work.
This is not a work made only by music, or better said, the music expresses much more than sonic entertainment: a world where all beliefs, be it religious or political ones, have failed, all hopes are gone, and a renewal is needed. A renewal precede by destruction it seems, following the concept of Solve et Coagula, so it’s only apt the fact that the album sounds as a soundtrack for the ruins and the voids left by this cathartic act of annihilation. The name of the project refers to monothematic delusion, a delusional state that concerns only one particular topic, and they left us to wonder which concept could it be. Is it God? Is it politics? Is it faith in something, no matter what? Following the industrial tradition of challenging the listener, they don’t give answers, but only pose questions upon which we should reflect.
Unnatural instinct introduces us to this dark and devastated dimension, using sparse and distorted kicks while a creepy and atmospheric layer expands itself. Robotic, alien voices show themselves among the sonic pursue, and growling sounds and obsessive rhythms reach the other elements in a crawling crescendo. Submission of thoughts is a nightmarish sci-fi soundscape, a mix of evocative dark ambient and heavy snares which collapses into a pandemonium of eerie synths and intricate beats, No future a nihilistic IDM/electro-industrial piece full of gravitas, a track made of oniric layers, narrative voices, and broken rhythms; the hidden tension explodes during the second half of the song, giving us an epic hypnotic movements surrounded by inciting sounds.
Deliverance recalls ambient-techno akin to Giorgio Gigli and Alessandro Cortini‘s style, adding layers of melancholic keys. But just when we feel a soothing relief, things turn toward a more aggressive and chaotic path made of menacing and shouting female voices and militant rhythms. The closing number Disembarking horizons starts as a mix of tribal distorted drum kicks and brooding sound layers, then it evolves into a kaleidoscopic track enriched by industrial beats and melancholic anti-melodies. The second half of the song offers an even harsher and nosier experience, without forfeiting the more evocative elements.
Belief Defect are simply astonishing, and Decadent yet depraved a work of sonic Art. Whereas today, most of the time, dark and industrial tinged electronics are more of an aesthetic factor linked to essentially dancefloor-aimed music than the expression of a real message or mood, they menage to update the ethos of early industrial and the more political-oriented side of underground electronic music using modern sounds and production techniques. The result is something authentic, a marriage of sound, image, concept, a music journey amidst a dark and apocalyptic world which is not a fantasy, but simply the essence of the real world we are living in. For sure a contender for the best work of the year in the realm of electronic music, be it underground or not, and one of the best in recent years. More than recommended.
Label: Raster
Rating: 9, 5