File Transfer Protocol - The Gargoyle Studio Sessions (2010-2012) 4/4
01. World of One, 02. Rain, 03. Shadows, 04. Attrition, 05. Ivory
Towers, 06. The Singularity, 07. This Machine, 08. 99%, 09. Regime, 10.
Subversion
The true industrial rock scene has seemed to be dead for some time now,
but this is not a secret for die hard fans. Provided that the United
States has been the genre's homeland where it found success in the
1990's, European bands have come up with a few new industrial musical
sub-genres over the course of the past 5 years that are personified as
i.e. electro rock defined by more melodic arrangements. I cannot say
however that these modifications have increased the chances for a
revival of the original scene. Nonetheless, there are still new bands
being created by musicians who's period of teenage revolt occurred in
the last decade of the 20th century. Some of these artist have never set
themselves free of this revolutionary attitude, yet they have been
ignited by idiotic ideas that are introduced by factions of our
governments. Following this theorem, we'll look into Texas, the police
state of America where Sean Rieger, the founder of File Transfer
Protocol makes his music.
It should be noticed first that FTP's sound has undoubtedly been inspired by the accomplishments of
Nine Inch Nails,
Gravity Kills and
Stabbing Westward
at some point. New artists who seem to be fascinated with cold,
industrial & guitar driven music have been encouraged by the success
of
Trent Reznor.
Many of these artist find themselves as the founders of one-man
projects that they utilize to express their frustrations through music
with either aggressive or melancholic attributes.
Sean Rieger appears to be well balanced somewhere in-between. His songs
bring positive vibes, yet they do not touch upon the common elements of
pop music. His lyrics raise awareness about topics that should be
important to every down to earth American, however Sean doesn't stir
anger by relying on the use of brutal arrangements either. The idea
behind his music seems to be rooted in the promulgation of warnings
supported by sheer facts. He wants to redirect the listener's attention
to issues which may happen to become a real danger in the near future
and which are being prepared by legislators whom the citizens have
elected.
After three years passing since the release of the debut album
Bipolar, a new compilation album has just been released entitled
The Gargoyle Studio Sessions.
The album title harks back to Sean's personal fascination with magical
gargoyles which he collects as figurines and displays in his recording
studio, although he treats them as protective totems. This release
features a set of 11 songs recorded and released as singles between 2010
and 2012.
"World Of One" is the opening track for this compilation. Pulsing beats
as well as various effects that are created with the utilization of
samplers build an intriguing atmosphere which is followed by slightly
echoing vocals. The tempo speeds up as the intro is joined by drums and
guitars. There are ethereal piano sounds as well in the end of the track
which standardize the composition, giving it a classical feel.
"Rain" is an instrumental arrangement that features distorted guitars, most probably inspired by Nine Inch Nails' album
The Fragile.
Once again, the piano appears to create a very interesting contrast
when held in comparison to the sound of modern electronic music. The
atmosphere feels kind of sad, but this may have been done to illustrate
the psychological process of dealing with some problems.
"Shadows" is the best song on this album as far as I'm concerned. The
first element of the song structure brings arrangements that are
inspired by 'big bubble' effects and phat beats that are commonly
utilized in electronic dance music. Although these aspects can also be
heard in rock-sounding songs by bands such as Nine Inch Nails or Gravity
Kills. Most often, Sean creates tension within the verses of his songs
which becomes a sensation that increases and is finally released
throughout the choruses; a method that has also been used in “Shadows”.
The overall sound of this track is far beyond uncanny, which may cause
the listener to feel shivers up their spine. This effect is due to an
interesting mix of guitars and samples. A contrast of lazy, sensual
tempos and non-distressing tensions have built a plot for a song that
has turned out magnetic.
Gothic sounds reverberating from a bass guitar along with industrial
samples and declaimed lyrics are the opening sequence for the following
track called "Attrition". The listener may find a few connections to the
music of Gravity Kills, but also to another industrial rock icon -
Stabbing Westward. Effectively distorted guitar riffs are reminiscent of
tunes on
The Fragile as I mentioned above. Due to a slow rhythm,
piano and lengthy vocals present in the choruses, the atmosphere of the
track sounds a bit epic. Nevertheless, it has been wisely crosscut with
beats and rasping guitars, but also hushed up effects.
"Ivory Towers" plainly forces the listener to react either by stamping
the floor, headbanging or other activity which lets them adjust to the
rhythm and dynamics of the song. This specific method by FTP of building
tension in the verses as I mentioned before, stands out in this track
and makes emotions explode through the following choruses. Overall, the
composition recalls of a junction between songs such as "Gave Up" and
"Wish" by Trent Reznor, which are both marked by turmoil and nervous
anxiety.
"The Singularity" is the next song on the tracklist. It is expressed by a
murky, concerned introduction that is based on synths and cold,
layered, protracted guitar riffs. This composition blooms in time, which
enables it to gain speed along with a colorful portrayal of emotions.
Sean perfectly matched the rhythm of the lyrics into the arrangement.
There are also subtle effects present in the verses which are laid over
the vocals. On top of it all, memorable choruses turn out as catchy as
those which are present in the song "Ivory Towers".
A melancholic and gloomy intro foreshadows a song entitled "This
Machine". It is surrounded by samples and intelligently layered guitars,
drums as well as bass which create an interesting background for
deeper, brooding vocals which come next.
On the other hand, both "99%" and "Regime" originate from two events
which occurred in the United States, but gained momentum and spread
across several other countries in 2011.
The first song is related to
The Occupy Movement which featured
angry Americans dissatisfied with levels of poverty. Many of whom are
seeing their rights abused every few weeks by legislators whose actions
are exposed through the national news cycle. They oppose the policies
and long accepted practices of banks, Wall Street and the super wealthy
during this time of extended economic crisis. The mood of the song is
closest to "Ivory Towers", which is characterized by a rapid tempo that
may illustrate anxiety and insecurity as well as methods of escape or
attack. Background sounds have been orchestrated into layers enriched by
screams, guitar riffs and vocal communications that are stylized to
sound like the TV news.
The idea behind the track "Regime" has come out of a recent attempt at
censorship towards Internet content as well as advancing surveillance
upon civil society. This is based on legislation masked by innocent
looking four-letter acronyms such as ACTA, SOPA or PIPA. In fact, ACTA
has been signed by representatives of the United States along with a few
other countries without any public consultation, but a few countries in
the European Union have given up on this idea due to the fervid public
protests of Internet users. The pulsing beats in “Regime” are for
instance reminiscent of early Stabbing Westward songs. This aspect
combined with edgy guitar riffs and well matched vocals make yet another
memorable track that has been written to encourage the mentality of the
people to wake up.
"Subversion" finishes
The Gargoyle Studio Sessions album. It's
the newest track and is a bit different from the other songs due to
heavy, funky bass lines a'la Red Hot Chili Peppers which begin this
composition. As for the atmosphere, "Subversion" brings an aggressive
feel with it mainly due to a rhythmic bass line along with buzzing
samples, effects and screaming vocals. There is no graduating advance of
tension either. Instead, listening to the entire "Subversion" track
feels like sitting on a bomb while playing with a TV remote-control
style detonator in hand which works as good as a game of Russian
roulette.
There are a few ways to call for a revolution - from throwing Molotov
cocktails to making punk music. This can also be accomplished with the
use of more subtle methods such as presented by
File Transfer Protocol
through this album. I'm not sure if Sean has successfully gotten rid of
his tension, however a listener will be undoubtedly left watchful and
alert after listening to
The Gargoyle Studio Sessions. Both the
music and lyrics assign a mature form of rebellion which is used by this
artist to protest against the abuse of a citizens' freedom by their
respective governmental institutions more and more often.
The Gargoyle Studio Sessions
will open the eyes, ears and minds of listeners in regards to a few
issues which are not only important to Americans, but also citizens
around the world who blindly follow 'Made in the USA' trends which
sometimes have a bad impact on their individual rights and liberty (see:
ACTA controversial legislation).
Musical know-how, writing skills, intelligent arrangements for multiple
instruments, well thought out compositional characteristics, valuable
inspirational elements, smooth performance techniques as well as high
quality mastering and overall album production make this compilation
stand high among many other industrial rock releases.
To top it all off,
The Gargoyle Studio Sessions are the tireless
work of one man. Ten years ago an album like this would have been
released by a major label and never have been offered as a free
download. In this current market independent artists control their own
business and a digital copy of this release can be easily downloaded for
free directly from FTP's official website. Of course this doesn't mean
that a listener should not try to offer support to this musician
financially if possible. It is important to keep Sean motivated to come
up with yet another great album while he remains inspired and there are
definitely many other items you can purchase from his online store!
(Katarzyna 'NINa' Górnisiewicz, Fabryka Magazine, November 18th, 2012)
Download this album (from FTP's upload to Google Drive through Fabryka Magazine, no registration is required).
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Reviewed by
Fabryka Music Magazine
