Over the last year Dave Brenner has been taking Gridfailure out on the road, turning it from a heavily productive studio outfit to something which is going to turn people’s heads inside out and change the way they listen to music. Here he provides vocals, samples, effects, percussion and visual projections and has been joined by Benjamin Levitt (Megalophobe) on accordion and effects plus Richard Muller on drums and percussion. As one can see from the title, this is a live improvisation piece which is a single “song” of more than 24 minutes in length. Here we have Can for a new generation, a bleak world where melody and structure cease to exist but instead life is losing all meaning.
This is extreme stuff, with lots of white noise, as the three guys attempt to produce something which twists and changes the very fabric of our existence. I am sure that 999 people out 1000 will hate this with an absolute passion, but for those with open minds who are fed up with the created and plastic music which feels the airwaves there is something incredibly special and dramatic about this. To my jaded ears Gridfailure continue to release albums which are immensely important, and they have even made this one available for “name your price”! I am sat here in Auckland Airport looking at the people walking by, and their happy existence would be torn to shreds if they could hear what I am currently playing on my headphones: the dichotomy between the audio and visual is quite unnerving in the extreme. Are you brave enough to discover Gridfailure?
Rating: 9/10
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Track list:
1. Live Improv // Manchester, NH
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