Published by Davide Pappalardo on September 26, 2018
Noire Antidote is the highly experimental electronic project of the Netherland-based artist Benjamin Schoones. Under this moniker, he produce satmospheric music enriched by dark motifs, sharp bass-lines, and orchestral passages. The result is a captivating sound, in which different elements concur to a multifaceted sound with slow rhythmic patterns, post-witch house elements, and eerie ambiances. In 2016 he debuted with the album I Know Where The Wolf Sleeps on the French label Audiotrauma, delivering an aural adventure full of hypnotizing tracks, and now he returns with Negative Etiquette for the same imprint.
Expect a new journey encapsulated with a marriage between noise and melody, evocation and ominous atmospheres, grandiose orchestrations, and cinematic moments. The focus is centered on sound-pictures and eerie frames for the mind, a sound-score for our inner voyages. The tolls of the trade are seductive rhythmic structures, sometimes employing modern broken rhythms, melancholic piano sounds, and diaphanous synths.
Obsidian smile welcomes us with its terse melody, recalling lo-key Scandinavian synthpop, adding eerie ambiances very soon. Then, syncopated rhythms and noisy bass-lines take the stage, creating a sombre, crawling movement. No more eyes shows us darker territories, employing almost dark ambient sounds and distorted controlled rhythms. A minimal structure characterized by a slow crescendo guides us among ghostly samples and sudden melodies in reverse, and new distorted bass sounds have their role, too.
Oneirophobia is a collaboration with witch house artist Monomorte, another crawling affair revolving around fat bass-lines and chopped soundscapes. A sinister atmospheres collide into a majestic rhythmic march, and sweet melodies complete the scene. Hidden changes of peace deliver an engaging track with a microcosm made of emotive atmospheres and mysterious “narrations without voice”.
Exploring the album, we find other great moments: ÆÆÆ starts with nice piano sounds, and then it adds distorted bass sounds and droning effects, underlined by charming choruses, while the Title track plays with suspense, dwelling into ambient passages and crafting grim soundscapes and slow rhythms. Another cinematic piece, in which we find vocal samples, too.
Counterparts needs to be mentioned, a collaboration with German musician Ecstasphere (Ophelia The Suffering), in which her familiar style infusing rhythmic noise and guitar sounds meets sharp lines and distorted broken patterns. The two artists strengthen and complete each other, and during the second half Ophelia offers her voice for a great session with guitar-driven riffs, collapsing into orchestral melancholies.
Noire Antidote doesn’t change his core sound in Negative Etiquette, keeping all the main elements present in his past endeavors, but he manages to showcase a work with its own dimension and soundscape. A stronger sense of composition and songwriting can be found here, sometime exploring deep sound experimentation, and employing stronger orchestral elements. A welcome evolution in the path of a very interesting artist not conforming to fashion or genres, following his own muse. Recommended for the curious listener.
Label: Audiotrauma
Rating: 7,5