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Saturday, 14 December 2019

MLEHST, The RITA - Fabric and Paint.


MLEHST, The RITA – Fabric and Paint – Belief Recordings -2019- Limited Edition CDR.


MLEHST is a UK Noise project that has been active since 1991 (there was a defunct period between 2001 and 2005), I’m interested to delve in and find out more. This album contains 3 Paint and Fabric pieces by MLEHST that are all remixed by the RITA with the middle one being Remixed by both RITA and MLEHST.

The first Fabric and Paint (1) is a fractured wall of distortion that is very cut into at first to the point where it is a broken passage sound. I return to my phrase deconstructed wall noise; this is a very extreme example of that. The cuts in the sound seem to make the noise more abrasive and hitting, as if caught in a wind tunnel with the noise movement makes. As the first Fabric and Paint progresses the sound becomes fuller and less chopped up, the distortion begins to overwhelm the cuts in sound as if allowed to breathe more.

Everything changes as silence introduces the second Fabric and Paint (intermission), it is as if we’re allowed a respite from the intensity of the first passage. Spatial Ambient sounds break the silence, rattling noise breaks the calm, it lingers and rattles for a long time reducing the ambient sounds to a backing for a long period of time until it is muffled out as if smothered out with a pillow. It refuses to die and continues, muffled and defiant even as it is cut into more, this ties it in with the first work as it is what I call a broken deconstruction of sound that dies off with silence.

All hell breaks loose for the third Fabric and Paint (2), this is a choppy, splatter wall of noise, crackly and steady. As with any wall the drops, rises – any shifts in movement are felt.  This isn’t tweaked with in any obvious manner, the overall sound seems to be melded into one overall sound rather than front and rear sounds making a layered whole/hole as a lot of walls do – this is one steady line, the MLHEST sound in full flight.

Fabric and Paint is a challenging release, it’s not an album you passively put on, engagement is required, and a solid recording is presented. I look forward to hearing the other stuff I have received as this is very difficult, confrontational and forward-thinking work.

Nevis Kretini 2019.

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