KATCHMARE – Lotus Village Plan

Scissor Death

Nick Hoffmann’s Scissor Death imprint is the domicile of several artistic derivations led by the same man, who – about two years ago – was so kind to mail various samples of his multifaceted work. This comprises captivatingly convoluted drawings (a booklet called How To Make Things Happen is quite attractive in that sense) and records printed on CDRs, whose inventive significance ranges from utterly cheap (Bumbrella Donkey’s noisy bashing in Miscommunication) to interesting enough for a few listens (Metatronics’ Throne Of Fog, a laptop duo with Hank Hofler). Indubitably, the very best is to be found in the triple whammy we’re reviewing now. According to the composer, who utilized customized Max/MSP software, the number three was a fixation of sorts in the period in which the music of Lotus Village Plan was created, and – once the process had ended – he realized that Eliane Radigue’s Trilogie De La Mort was not that far in terms of acoustic product. Guess what: for the large part he’s right. This is a hell of a record for lovers of unfathomable pulses and alarming subsonic implications, alternatively inquisitive and entrancing. It even meshes its basic connotations with touches of Lustmordian mystery in some parts, yet – despite the observable similarities – we never cease to be entirely fulfilled by these splendid low frequencies (and flabbergasted by a couple of coughs in between nowhere, towards the third disc’s end). Not a shameful imitation, then; more a sort of respectful homage, often sounding implausibly good. Get a copy of this, you drooling drone maniacs, then send a thankful note to the reviewer (and, especially, the engenderer ).