Clarke Robinson-Industry & Indifference; self-released, 2016

 

It's recalled by Disaster Amnesiac that I grabbed a copy of Clarke Robinson's Industry & Indifference just as it was released in 2016. Clarke was a very intriguing dude on the SF Bay Area Noise scene, and I do know that it was with some enthusiasm that this cassette was purchased. Pretty sure that a plan to enthuse about it was in the works, but for whatever reasons, the plan only ever reached the conceptual stage. Here we are now, a couple of societal meltdowns later, and Industry & Indifference emerged from the box of tapes that is stuffed into a corner of mi casita pequena, and I figured it's high time to act upon that dated plan. Two tracks of the same names as in the title were freely improvised on a modular patch synthesizer. You know the type: multi-colored wires that stretch from small inputs to other small inputs, dials, and knobs, all encased within some kind of funky containment. The sounds that emerge from these types of rigs are always highly abstract, characterized by colorful tones and odd glitches. Robinson produced very percussive soundscapes, sometimes interrupted by more open ended tonal fields. Both Industry and Indifference are full of mysterious vibes. The former presents thickets of of hard edged sounds, pauses briefly to regroup and then whirls out of control for a lot of its duration. Industrial Music can be heard as some kind of significant influence on side one, especially when one hears the sound of bombers mid-raid, cruising over Laos or Dresden with their evil payloads. That latter has a brief intro of Glitch Core tones before settling into a more pure drone, and alternates between quiet and loud passages, all the while giving fascinating sine waves and split tones that color the mind. Glistening sounds break through and then lead into a fade. On Industry & Indifference, Clarke Robinson made really big sonic moves with a rather small rig, all of them done in a spirit of pure d.i.y. discovery. Fans of Noise are encouraged to seek and hear them. Hopefully Clarke is still following his vision.