One of the most unexpected pleasures of Cornerstone this year came not from a concert or an interview, but from walking back from the mainstage. On Saturday night, I virtually stumbled into this guy sitting in a lawn chair by the side of the road, playing his self-produced cd for the hordes happening by. I was entranced by the Gregorian chant and subsonic bass that came rumbling out of the painfully inadequate jambox and knew immediately I had to have a copy.
The intrigue grows with repeated listens. Nipsis, an experiment in industrial and ambient space music by "Thymikon" (Oklahoma theology student Beau G. Branson) draws more on the darker, sonic manipulations of industrial pioneers like Blackhouse than the guitar fueled angst of Nine Inch Nails or the chant driven dance pop of Enigma. Branson plays with a number of styles from the numbingly intense groove of the title track to the tortured loops and misdirected melodies on "Without 613." Songs like "Remorse" and "Demise 2" play like selections from a film score while "Night" folds its rhythm back over itself with a relentless drum program and heavily echoed rap.
Nipsis contains not one radio-friendly minute. But it contains many for those who enjoy experimental music that the majors could never justify taking a chance on.
Other coverage for this album
The Phantom Tollbooth 1997Reviewed by Shari LloydI've been looking for this CD for a while. A blending of Eastern Orthodox chant with industrial keyboards and sampling sounded intriguing. "Nipsis," the title track, is a wonderful example of this blend of old and new musical styles. The rest of the album varies from a fast dance beat to an ambient almost new age feel yet forms a cohesive whole. The overall tone of the album is dark but not…Garlic Press #4Reviewed by UnknownIf, back in the early days, the members of Skinny Puppy had gotten together with the folks from Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus, this is what their collaboration might have sounded like. Most of the music on this CD is instrumental, although smatterings of Puppy-esque samples can be found. The integration of electro sounds and mellower ambient material is done perfectly. The end product…Similar sounding releases
1996TMA-2Artifact One
1996SanctumLupus in Fabula
1999Tara VanflowerThis Womb Like Liquid Honey
1995Nine Inch NailsFurther Down the Spiral
1995VirusAmbient Theology
1998Gathering of SoulsNeither Moth Nor Rust Corrupts
