With the recent explosion of interest in the noise scene, a number of
artists, some worthy and some not, have gotten a taste of (relative)
success that in years past would have been unheard of. Christopher
Forgues, the man behind Kites, utilizes a phalanx of pedals, circuit
breakers, microphones, and amps to achieve his unusual and bracing take
on music. Live, he screams, hisses, and flails into his mics and amps,
achieving an unworldly scream of sound that it truly impressive for a
one man band.
Mountain Collective For Independent Artists
Superior Moon, a 3” mini CD released on a limited run of 1000 copies on tiny imprint Mountain Collective for Independent Artists, is an excellent showcase for his sometimes deranged, sometimes haunting brand of musical experimentation. Whereas his last full length Peace Trials was a good, if not flawed effort, this album's nine untitled tracks are much shorter and to the point than some of his previous material.
“Track 6” begins with a relatively gentle swell of electronic beats with subdued electronic squiggles appearing over the beat. The next song begins with what sounds like a spliced sample, slowly building along with a sleigh bell before being demolished by some electronic hiss in the last ten seconds. “2” is another track built on top of what sounds like electronic beats, but features the sound of a swelling synthesizer as well. “9” is another impressive track, one that approaches the caustic break beat freak outs of an artist like Kid606.
While all the songs here are uniformly good, my one complaint is that it appears as though Kites might be reigning in his sound just a bit. While a few tracks do lash out with harsh tentacles of electronic hiss, for the most part these tracks are dominated by subdued beats and slowly swelling sections of white noise. On the other hand, this restraint does serve to make this release one Kites’ most accessible yet. And while there are surely going to be those who complain that this accessibility will equal a lesser record, the fact is that it is just indicative of the type of risks Forgues is willing to take with his one man project.
samples:
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