Message To The Machine - Endlessly Copying Ourselves EP
Dark Feather Productions, 2012
Rating: 3/4
01. Psycho Bitch Commentary 03:12
02. The Engineer 02:54
03. The Long Face of Tarquin Pain 01:34
04. Endlessly Copying Ourselves 04:11
05. Your Words Make Me Sick 04:49
06. The XY Man 03:36
07. The Red Antelope 06:40
Message
To The Machine is the brainchild of James Orez who established the band
in England in 2009. So far it has been his solo project since he does
all of the songwriting, programming, mixing and performance as well as
the mastering and overall production. James is an artistically talented
person who began writing poems and short stories when he was a teenager.
The above experiences allowed him to utilize a variety of skills during
the course of writing song lyrics when he finally organized and set up a
band. Participating in a music technology course furthered his
understanding of the mathematics best used to orchestrate electronic
music and also trained him to recognize exceptional solutions for live
studio recording techniques. Since releasing an 8 track album entitled Desensitised in 2010, he continued recording new music and eventually produced a brand new EP named Endlessly Copying Ourselves two years later.
The
idea behind this release touches upon the topic of a modern human
civilization, which seemingly cannot transcend itself with new ideas.
This is based upon the concept that many common things we use daily,
including art and music, have been long since invented and
technologically improved upon to their maximum potential. Thus, human
kind has begun repeating itself by re-manufacturing and copying
everything like a machine programmed in a factory.
The above
mentioned leitmotifs were written into the songs "Psycho Bitch
Commentary" as well as "The Engineer". Both songs are noisy with
distorted vocals that are interlaced with various samples and powered by
mechanical rhythms. You can also hear the feel of what I would consider
to be slightly 80's stylized cold wave music on this EP too. This was
specifically evident in the song "Endlessly Copying Ourselves", where
you can identify the melodies regardless of the integrated
industrialized atmospheres. On the other hand, the title of the song
"The XY Man" can be interpreted as if to emulate an anonymous John Doe
as well as any random person with an unknown identity who is one of many
in society, just like a cog in the machine.
The basis of this composition is rooted in a much slower tempo when held in comparison to previous songs.
This
EP brings with it an experimental style of industrial music that is
expressed through rather short, yet repetitive compositional aspects
based on James' personal preference of samples and synthesizers. The
moods of the songs are cold and dark, which may illustrate the way a
machine or a cyborg could 'feel' if it were brought to life with the
ability to do so. This set of songs would be a great choice for the
soundtrack of a black and white animated movie that is about the life
and times of a truly burnt out character.
Message To The Machine
sounds like Joy Division decided to make industrial music. It's not
anything that could be classified as 'easy listening' music either, but
sonically it gives the listener a basic insight into the entire
industrial music idea. This album appears emotional, yet dehumanized and
quite depressive, although psychologically routine tasks may lead
anyone into a depressed state of mind as well. If you live such a
mechanized and multitasking lifestyle, it may be a good idea to listen
to this EP and get the right perspective.
(Katarzyna 'NINa' Górnisiewicz, +Fabryka Music Magazine, May 25, 2012)
http://messagetothemachine.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Message-To-The-Machine/131811503538389 http://www.reverbnation.com/messagetothemachine
http://soundcloud.com/message-to-the-machine
http://mog.com/albums/mn64486141/message-to-the-machine/endlessly-copying-ourselves
http://twitter.com/therapyhiccup
http://www.youtube.com/user/MessageToTheMachine
Buy this EP on:
http://itunes.apple.com/artist/message-to-the-machine/id503735830
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007CFTM0K/ref=dm_sp_alb
http://open.spotify.com/album/1WdugjbCMwdTrW8aDs0CRd
http://www.reverbnation.com/store/view_item_album/artist_2393308?item_id=1401974
http://www.emusic.com/listen/#/album/message-to-the-machine/endlessly-copying-ourselves/13173366/
http://us.7digital.com/artist/message-to-the-machine/release/endlessly-copying-ourselves
Desensitised (2010)
http://messagetothemachine.bandcamp.com/album/desensitised-v2