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totakeke digitalexorcist
Artist: Totakeke
Title: Digital Exorcist
Genre: Electronic
Release Date: 19th March 2013
Label: Tympanik Audio


Album Review

Seems like TOTAKEKE has opted for a very special subject matter on his newest effort following three years of silence: The transformation of something you can almost call an ancient ritual into the computer age with 'Digital Exorcist', containing 9 pieces with 6 tracks revolving around the three main phases of digital exorcism. The first phase sets off the album and puts the listener into the centre of an ether filled with voices that is yet to be overwritten with textures and light piano echoes before it is all turned to shreds with the arrival of sharp, irregularly-timed drums that build up tension and an irresistible momentum. 'Virtual Intelligence' is quite the straight fellow that is getting a downright clubby beat straight into your head and legs while the ambient keys resonate in the background to impose on you a slight feeling of unease, which brings us to 'Abomination' whose deep bass drones dissolve structures. The rhythm sounds as being heavily improvised, it takes so many turns and shifts it's quite hard to keep up. On 'Where The Machine Begins' it is actually the drumming that is taking a back seat, injecting a rather subtle groove while the spotlights are being occupied with high-level at times extreme experimentalism.

Phase two of the suite is arriving with an unpretentious start. Parts of pure ambient fluidity alternate with the frenzy of rhythmic paradoxes. Clocking in at about 10 minutes, 'Overlord' is the second longest track on the album and the one that explores quietness more than any of the others as the structure's rupturing only for brief moments with distorted noises. The transition to 'Man's Reach Exceeds His Grasp' is fluent and brings back some recurring elements in TOTAKEKE's music while the track progresses to a percussive monster with little regard to atmosphere. I dare saying it out loud. There is actually a hip-hop influence in 'Victory Without Casualties' as far as the beats are concerned. Only that you would never get a foundation multi-layered as this on mainstream hip hop in a thousand years’ time. Absolution is close on the third and last part of the suite called 'Digital Exorcism'. There is a theme that consistently permeates the entire track, is subtly and prominently alienated and processed as down-tempo kicks are viscously moving forward by the second.

At the end of it all you can't help acknowledging the meticulous work that has resulted in a most exciting body of work.


Tracklist

01. Digital Exorcism I (It All Seemed Harmless) - 6:43
02. Virtual Intelligence - 5:33
03. Abomination - 5:39
04. Where The Machine Begins - 4:49
05. Digital Exorcism II (Virus With A Face) - 5:48
06. Overlord - 10:32
07. Man's Reach Exceeds His Grasp - 7:38
08. Victory Without Casualties - 9:12
09. Digital Exorcism III (Absolution) - 11:27


Line-up

Frank Mokros


Website

http://www.facebook.com/elekatota


Cover Picture

totakeke digitalexorcist


Rating

Music: 9
Sound: 9
Extras: -
Total: 9 / 10





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