EE16: LAVAS MAGMAS – ACTS OF WORSHIP CDR+DVDR
*DELETED*
Lavas Magmas is the project of Luis Gonzalez hailing from Portland, Oregon. After touring with Regosphere and specializing in sound and video projects it was decided to focus a DVDR/CDR release on Existence Establishment. Lavas Magmas creates industrial ambience with a precision that is rarely heard from artists today. Pulsating oscillations collide with unearthly scrap metal improvisations and ghostly drones to form a thick tapestry of otherwordly brilliance.
Accompanying the CDR is a DVDR mind-altering video/audio experience that utilizes convergence of saturated, vivid source material and manipulations which portray a plethora of visuals complete with field recordings, news footage, and rare videos all set to the intense sounds that Gonzalez is quickly becoming known for.
CDR:
- Work Weak
- Reptitions Migrate [ Full Track ]
- Humanizing Inhumane
- Orgonopticon [ Excerpt ]
- Desiring-Stupor
- A Prayer for Money
DVDR:
- Reaktor I: Organopticon
- Into the Void
- Black Friday
- Strictly limited to 50 copies.
- DVDR and CDR with printed artwork directly on disc.
- Two double sided hand-silkscreened disc protection sleeves.
- Handmade and painted digipack with full-color artwork.
From Brutal Resonance webzine:
Hurrah! Reinforcements arrived to industrial scene; and today it is Luis Gonzalez from Portland to add from his personal vision to the long row of different abstract creations. There is not much information about his activity that could be found, though from a little bit that I dig out from the internet, the cdr which I hold in my hands is his first full length album, accompanied by a visual effects dvdr. Before this he contributed few tapes here and there with editions of 30 to 60 pieces, maybe for the special ears only. Anyhow, here is the CD called ‘Acts of Worship’, and I will give it all my time in order to dissect its guts.
What I can hear from the very beginning is a total abstractivism that flows with the every tune out of my speakers. A wide sonic soundscape is full of reach spectrum of accidental scratches, noises, metallic parts hitting each other etc. Electronic pulsations are everywhere, without any specific structure; sometimes it is really hard to navigate through those barricades of sound. There are few tracks which are harsher, having sharper layers that try to conquer the stage, like in “Repetitions Migrate”. And there are few more cinematic, reminding of some sci-fi movie thriller, where a listener has to switch on all his wild imagination, take for example “Orgonopticon” and “Humanizing Inhumane”. Droning loops intertwist into the vortexes of a local insanity, electronic pulsating waves fill the air, rising and fading, crossing the atmosphere and firing hidden messages up to the sky full of stars. Maybe Luis tries to worship an alien civilization that will receive his letter and will finally take control over stupid human civilization.
To make a long story short, the album didn’t affect me too much. The experiments with field recordings, machinery sounds and electronic ambience are not new and were already explored for a few decades. One has to bring something definitely different in order to glance between all those that try to. Regular and plain background music without any specific highs and lows, but I truly want to make a suggestion to Luis to continue his journey, because the potential to grow presents for sure.
From Black Audio webzine:
My initial reaction to this release was towards the DIY packaging that is reminiscent of punk ethos. Either way, this has been well put together and it warmed my cockles somewhat smelling the glue and paint and trying to prise the CDr out of the neatly patched together digipak.
Musically, the bedrock of this album is bedded down in Dark Ambient circles. An old school industrial vibe resonating over individual tracks in machine like drones, whilst clattering scraps of metal fall together in on their way to the smelting forge. It’s not entirely inventive, nor is it original, but does serve a purpose in the genre, which this album is pinpointed within.
The accompanying DVDr utilises source material from newsreels, to diabolic atrocities and so forth. Essentially I would expect to see this played out at any live action Lavas Magmas took part in and to some effect adds the necessary ingredient that is sorely lacking when taking on this release in a purely aural environment.
‘Acts of Worship’, is by no means a bad album when collectively packaged with the DVDr. However, there is little on offer in the grand scheme of things, when there are so many other artists out there providing a vast amount of work that triple the engagement this project struggles to provide.
Leave your response!