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CONTRASTATE - An Exercise in deFascination

Format: 7inch Label & Cat.Number: Black Rose Recordings BRV17-1015 Release Year: 2019 Note: two pieces inspired / dedicated to the Italian "Giallo" film genre, these are alternate mixes of ongoing studio recordings for the next album - "It reminded me of the first time I heard Contrastate and I was reminded straight away why I like it so much back and still would play with great fondness." [Vital Weekly] - lim. 250 copies on yellow vinyl & with colourful cover art Price (incl. 19% VAT): €10.00 More Info "The two tracks are alternate mixes from our ongoing studio recordings for the next Contrastate album. The album concept is inspired by the Italian giallo films of 1970s. Limited to 250 copies. Why are Flavia’s hands and feet missing? What is she doing in the Nessuno Aslyum? And how did she know about the death of Judge Carnevale? Inspector Qualcuno fights his way through the elite of society and the cabal of capitalism to the corrupt underbelly of a decadent and decaying nation. Until finally confronting a closed-shop cartel hell bent on anti-democratic sabotage for its own personal gain. Active from the late 1980s through to the present day Contrastate have released a number of critically acclaimed albums. Their sound insinuates itself inside the dark ritual ambience of the electronic avant-garde shot through with a vein of experimental noise and stentorian vocals that are strewn amongst touches of industrial surrealism and sonic soundtracks." [label info] "Ah, the 7" format! Sometimes misused by drone musicians, fading in and out a song, but hardly ever a complete rounded song. Contrastate is surely a band that could pull off a great song (as in 'a song') for which this format is well suited. They have been around since close to thirty years now and in the early years, I was a big fan. Their combination of moody electronics, drone experiments, industrial electronics and song format worked great for me, but I found them moving a bit too much in a what I would loosely call ‘gothic’ area when they started to work with vocals. So I am sure I missed out on some development there. It might also be that they aren't as active anymore. These two songs are alternative mixes from pieces that are going to be on the next Contrastate album. The Italian Giallo films of the 1970s inspired the album. ("Giallo is a 20th-century Italian genre of literature and film. Especially outside Italy, Giallo refers specifically to a particular Italian thriller-horror genre that has a mystery or detective elements and often contains slasher, crime fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror, sexploitation, and, less frequently, supernatural horror elements. In Italy, the term generally denotes thrillers, typically of the crime fiction, mystery, and horror subgenres, regardless of the country of origin.") I don't think I ever saw one; I know, my bad. It makes me not the likeliest candidate to review this, but I would think the title track on side A builds quite a nice, orchestral tension, which would easily a horror or thriller movie. There are some dramatic climaxes along some suspenseful sustaining strings. On 'Spasmo', there are some narrative vocals (lots of reverb!) along with a more radio play like a dialogue of sounds, synthesizers, and bows on the guitars, making it all sound very retro, but I mean that in a very positive way. It reminded me of the first time I heard Contrastate and I was reminded straight away why I like it so much back and still would play with great fondness. Yes, indeed that ambient industrial slightly gothic sound." (FdW/Vital Weekly]