Published by Davide Pappalardo on February 13, 2018
Dominik Fernow is a name demanding respect in the world of modern experimental music, with a penchant for noise and industrial themed sounds. He is the mind behind the labels Hospital Productions and Bed Of Nails, and he has many aliases he uses for his different endeavors: Vatican Shadow for his politically-inspired brand of evocative techno-industrial, Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement for ambient dub/techno, Prurient for his highly mutant and adventurous kind of noise music, just to name a very few of them. Probably the last one its his most famous incarnation, the name he chose in 1998 in order to show the world his bleak and nihilistic vision. During the years he has published under this moniker more than one hundred and forty releases, counting cassettes, vinyls, CD -Rs, CDs, DVDs, a restless journey during which he has revisited harsh noise, power electronics, drone music, rhythmic noise, even experimenting with techno and EBM influences in works like Bermuda drain and Through the window. (2013, Blackest Ever Black)
A multimedia artist characterized by a strong personality and a confronting attitude during his live performances, he has always shown his will to experiment with noise music without any regards for rules or any reverence. In 2015 the Canadian extreme metal label Profound Lore published his double album Frozen Niagara falls, which gave him recognition even beyond the world of industrial and noise music, thanks to its mixing of dark ambient, noise, synth -sounds, post rock and more, transcending any previous conception about Prurient. But fret not: it wasn’t the start of any descend in the world of accessible music, and works like the harsher and more chaotic Unknown rains (2016, Hospital Productions) and the collaboration with Mikko Aspa and Skin-Graft‘s project Sadio (2016, Freak Animal Records) are a statement to this fact.
Now he returns with Rainbow mirror, once again under Profound Lore, and he surprises us in even more ways. In order to celebrate twenty years of existence for his project, he chose to call to arms his old collaborators Matt Folden (Dual Action) and Jim Mroz (Lussuria), recalling the early days of the project, which during its first live shows was a trio, experimenting and recording live with them. The resulting sounds have been mixed by Shifted (Guy Alexander Brewer), and the final product his a three hours and a half long juggernaut (four CDs or seven LPs on vinyl) meant to guide the listener through a trance-inducing dark ambient/noise sound, in which synthesizers are used in a subtler way, as well as acoustic instruments and droning patterns. The result is something that follows Fernow’s hidden irony: probably the quietest work of Prurient to date, but at the same time the most demanding in his long discography.
The first disc starts with Barefoot god and its dark ambient drones, a static and obsessive sound which knows old school electronics and seducing, crawling structures, and evolves with and the noisier layers and distorted soundscapes of Walking on dehydrated coral, a track completed by a cosmic atmosphere with hypnotizing undertones. Midnight Kabar is like a power electronics march, but without vocals, a looping mantra made of abrasive effects and evocative synth lines; it starts quieter, but soon we have the usage of shrilling sounds and gurgling moments, giving us a growing vortex. Chaos-sex ends this part evoking a war- torn landscapes thanks to ferocious industrial machine loops and a distorted crescendo which gradually increase the wall-of-noise here presented.
The second disc opens with Falling In the water, an evocative, synth-focused piece in its first part, where solemn and eerie dark ambient layers and grinding effects concur to a majestic track, later enriched by a melancholic melody. The strong pathos grows during the sonic episode, without blenching from quieter moments in order to create a sound-narrative. Okinawan burial vaults descents into territories akin to those of the aforementioned Midnight Kabar, but with a steadier rhythm, conceiving a sort of urban tribalism made of sharp sounds and droning loops, while April fool’s day aspect sinister continues on this path, adding a sense of urgency and a factory-like soundscape to the noise themed undertones. Cruel Worlds is the final track of the second disc, a minimalistic piece lasting a way shorter time than the previous ones. It returns to cosmic sound layers and slow, crawling effects and rhythms, in an evocative pastiche.
The third disc welcomes us with Naturecum and its deafening feedback recalling Prurient harsh noise works, then developing a brooding loop made of shrilling sounds and roaring effects, adding “futuristic” qualities to an apocalyptic soundscape enriched by distant drums, The second part of the track indulges in darker tones, a spiraling theme with cosmic synth-sounds and malevolent atmospheres, where we find heavily processed vocals, even if for few seconds. Blue kimono over corpse takes a dreamier route made of inspiring layers and majestic atmospheres, giving us a sense of suspended tension. Then, the track grows into a spiraling vortex which conveys the cosmic elements previously noted. Path Is short uses Gothic undertones with sampled bells and evocative drones, adding during is duration sharp noises and horror-themed soundscapes; its slow, droning movement gets stronger by the time, touching way more saturating climaxes during the second part of the song, even using drilling effects. The two parts of Buddha strangled In vines end the disc with a melancholic melody enriched by a surreal quality, a mantra underlined by static loops and shrilling sounds. At four minutes it becomes overwhelmed by dissonant noises and distorted vocals, not forgetting the usage of a feedback, and then returns to the quieter first movement, just like a wave a sea of synth sounds. During the second part it keeps the same melody for all its length, just using different effects as a substrate, focusing on the ritualistic nature of the music.
The fourth disc is a bonus with the tracks Lazarus Flamethrower Sleepwalk and Buddhist State, the first one a frantic noise soundscape with abrasive qualities and factory-like atmospheres, where after the second part of the track, things escalate into pure noise territory, and the second one a more minimal affair made of dissonance and almost orchestral rhythms and structures, in which squalls and industrial sounds are substitutes for melody.
The vinyl boxset comes with an additional tape where Patrick O’Neil of Skin Crime fame reads, accompanied by a noise soundscape, the story of Rainbow Mirror as wrote by Fernow and comic books writer Scott Bryan Wilson about life and death, beginnings and endings. The droning, obsessive mantra made of distorted loops, recorded in 90’s New Hampshire by O’Neil himself, is enhanced by synthetizer sounds courtesy of Kris Lapke of Alberich, and a mandala by Adam Marnie, already a collaborator in Frozen Niagara Falls, while additional woodland tape loops were recorded in Rhode Island and manipulated in New York. The A side Hanged mans orgasm sees the narration shouted vehemently by O’Neil, underlined by the aforementioned static, distorted loops during the duration of the track, while the B side In the ashes of science we fall. In the peeling birch we remain shows the field recordings obtained in Rhode Island reworked in studio with the addition of synth sounds, hypnotizing drones and disturbing dark ambient samples. A perfect manifestation of the nihilistic narrative presented in the booklet, open to interpretation for the reader/listener but conveying a clear sense of grave spirituality, summarized by the juxtaposition of the face on the front cover and an atomic mushroom we find as a poster in all the versions.
Once again Prurient evolves beyond his boundaries, keeping at the same times all the fundamental elements enriching its music since its conception: the freedom to experiment and the deep connection between sounds, words, images, and concepts. Rainbow mirror is not just a (anti)music album, is a ritual meant to achieve an effect on the listener, and at the same time to evoke the early days of the project in Milwaukee (its not by chance they are recalled in the liner notes of the album, together with the piece of fiction narrated in the boxse-only cassette). Art in a wide sense is here to be found, an unmatched vision always developing and growing thanks to maniacal dedication to the craft of engaging aural experiences. Prurient is at the same time elegant and brutal, caustic and solemn, even when he is placid, there is something brooding: his quietness is the one that comes after a nuclear war. Any fan of modern experimental music should confront this tasking ritual, he will emerge with something new and unique which will accompany him in the future. Once again a masterpiece changing the rules of the game, in which Prurient is way ahead of any other player.
Label: Profound Lore
Rating: 9,5