From: case@diku.dk (Steven Snedker)
Newsgroups: rec.music.industrial
Subject: Cyberworld comp. review
Summary: Overlong review of music noone will ver hear.
Keywords: boring, not of any interest, do not read, avoid
Date: 25 Jul 92 17:12:58 GMT
Organization: Department of Computer Science, U of Copenhagen

Velcome dear Tekno lovers. Ach, meine kleine kartofflen, do I haf a treat for
you? Not only phony tcherman accent, which should konvince you that I'm an
expert on Euro-tekno, especially ze Frankfurt sound, but also a reviefs of
the techno/cyberpunk compilation CYBERWORLD, 17 songs by 17 different danish
underground Techno/cyberpunk bands. Noone except perhaps those who wish to know
about the electronic body music scene in Denmark, or those who craves a feeling
of how a typical low-low-budget compilation can turn out will be interested in
what there is to say about the 17 more or less professional bands.

CYBERWORLD, the first ever danish cyberpunk underground turbo turbo compilation,
Playground records, playlp 001, Limited edition 500 copies only.
Ratings: are 1-6, and categories are Ambient, Techno and FLA. The diff between
Techno and FLA is the off-beat highhat found in Techno and the distorted voix
d'hais found in FLA.

JP 69: Elevation part 1-3
Long, slow intro to the 2LP. A bit Orbish, but marred by samples like JFK's "We
choose to go to the moon", misc. space shuttle talk (hearing too much techno has
made me horribly allergic to the beeps you try to avoid hearing when astronauts
talk to each other or the earth) and especially the overused Highlander samples
"There can be only one", "It's better to burn out than to fade away". Why some
people are still able to put Highlander and Blade Runner samples in their music
utterly escapes me. The music is all-right though, a good effort in the way of
creating the mood for the record.
Ambient 4

Max M: Atomic Playboy
Samplewise it's all screwed up again: It's the samples from "Atomic Cafe" again.
I DON'T WANT TO HEAR THEM ANYMORE!. But I want to hear the music as it's
well-produced 130 bpm rave fodder. Not the most intellectual of treats, but you
definately feel like twisting your wobbly bottom to this one.
Techno 5

In Absentia: Dead Mind
Ach, Gott, they forgot to distort the vocals. 124 bpm standard techno with
lyrics along the lines of "Your dead body, your dead mind you stand alone" sung
by a Depeche Mode wanna-be. Slightly boring, as it's too unimaginative.
Techno 3

Psychopomps: Animals
Ah, psychopompus, guides in the netherworld in the greek mythology. It comes as
no surprise that they have been produced by Leatherstrip in the past. Luckily
they have lost both him and his samples. An unrelenting beat, a nasty distorted
vocal and an even more nasty and distorted snaredrum is what this song is
composed of. If you like FLAs Caustic Grip and Leatherstrip, this is definately
a band for you. They appear courtesy of Slop Pail records, which has issued
their first 12".
FLA 5

Koxbox: Echoes of Dawn
I sincerly hope that the bands name is an arty spelling of cock-box, as this
would lend a bit more charm to this way too standard techno band. We're talking
the usual 130 bpm and roland instruments. But as with all the songs on this
record, it's strict beat underground techno, which in my opinion is superior to
all the other flavours techno comes in. And they abstain from singing.
Techno 3

T & T Aggression: Beat the professor
Not much to say about this, the pearl of the collection. It's standard Techno,
and I really cannot tell it from the preceding song. But my body can tell the
difference. This is somehow the sirensong of the dancefloor. And where all the
other bands, except one, has included pictures of themselves scowling at the
camera in their approved clothes and approved haircuts, T&T has produced a
picture of a smiling old man. Great.
Techno 6

AUM: File 23
Who wouldn't be suspicious of a song with a title like that? The loops of
work-out instructions are slightly amusing, but this is generally a bore.
Techno 2

Birmingham 6: This Girl
Gawd! Do all techno compilation experience the same: I've reached the 8th song,
and I can't tell the songs apart anymore, all I can hear is the hard beat and
distorted vocals, and I think it's great. The dance factor is high and the
remembrance factor is low. There's nothing outstanding about this song, it'll
only please on a dancefloor.
Techno 3

Trash Taxi: Out of Control
I'm very much opposed to the use of Art of Noise trumpet hits, sampled at 10
khz, in Techno. When people do that, not even a distorted vocal can save the
song. And we of the strict church of hard techno are also against the use of
handclaps as snaredrum. Now that FLA, 2nd Communication and Leatherstrip has
effectively shown us what a real snaredrum should sound like, we do not approve
of anything else, unless it has artistic justification, and this hasn't.
Techno 2

Electrodelia: K.M.S. (12")
I could do with one.
Techno 1

Jim Gleiz: Fuckface
A bit thin productionwise (my guess is that it has all been done with a sampler,
a drummachine and an inferior singing voice), but 200 bpm and goofy sound and
samples makes it -even if not especially interesting- then at least stand out
on the record.
Techno 3

Sloppy Wrenchbody: When we're alive (remix)
SW is one of the few bands that doesn't play Frankfurt techno, and that has so
far earned them a deal with the illustrious K K Records. Their production is
marginally better than that of the other bands, but the music is as interesting
as track 3 on the Intermix CD (anybody remember that? Thought so). A shame as
they're probably one of the more interesting bands.
Funk 3

Petrified Smiles: Nor Less Chaos
Also one of the atypical songs on the 2LP. Slow and drenched in distroted
sounds, this stands out as one of the best attempts to escape the cliches/style
markers of techno. The singer sounds genuinely desperate, and much care has been
taken in the production. More industrial than techno.
Industrial 5

ICI: Creaclone
Now haven't I heard a similar sounding title before? And haven't I heard the
damned astronaut samples a zillion times before? And haven't I heard exactly
the same bass in Vomito Negros "In Strikt Tempo"? The answer to all three
questions is, of course, pretentious, a pretentious yes. But well, the lads do a
good job establishing the Electronic Body Music, when they cannot develop it.
But because of the astronaut beep heard at the end, they only get a
Techno 4

Leatherstrip: G.A.W.N. (Dead Edit)
"Prepare to face the uncoming enemy", "the uncoming enemy","the-the-the uncoming
enemy". AArgh, Leatherstrip once again shows that he has the most horrible
sample collection imaginable, and that he's not afraid to use it. And when the
samples wear thin he proceeds with the snippets he has found in Bill Leebs
wastebasket, passing them off as lyrics. Luckily he's pretty nifty when it comes
to making 2nd Communication-like music, and this is a sure-fire dancefloor hit.
Zoot Omog has btw released 4 12"'s and 2 LP's with this fellow, and he is
reportedly very popular among the Frankfurt rabble. His succes has even inspired
him to include is lyrics on his last record, which really is a fault.
FLA 6

Cant: Viking
At first I was shocked. This band actually has good samples, that one has never
heard before, and they work. Most of the samples are of some hyperborean idiot
shouting "I told you, I am the viking from Iceland!" and "Cmon pulle pulle"
which matches perfectly with the lyrics where the chorus goes "I've got a
ridiculous little dick, I've got a ridiculous little brain" and the fairly hard
techno beat. One could peeve about the replacement of the usual bass drumm with
a thinner drier version, but it actually works. It sounds new, it sounds
imaginative. And the distorted vocal sneering "And my friends they're
young and wild too, one of them is a real punk, another one has lived in
California, and one nearly took on overdose, but I have to hide the fact that my
dick is but a little thing" is a pleasure compared to all the cybershit one gets
around here. And, as with T&T, they are not some scowling young men in boots;
instead they have included a picture of a cock penetrating a cunt with CANT
written on the shaft. About time.
Techno? 6

Waiting Cristo: Passion
Poor fellow in leather pants having a go at Laibachs musical style with "Punish
your body" samples. Is it because they're all so young they use such crappy
samples? Or are they getting them along with the lyrics from the same mailorder
company? He doesn't exactly fail at being grave, but still, it seems a bit to
pompous for this compilation. I'd rather seen that Cant or T&T ended the record.
Ljublana 3

So, is it worth buying, you ask. Yes, some of the stuff is rather good and the
2LP scores an average quality of (64/17) 3.7647 on my scale from 1 to 6, which
is a bit above average, and quite a bit better than most techno compilations.
You'll have to get rid of the cover though. On the front is a pathetic drawing
of a woman, that has had half her cranium replaced by metal. Uugh, the
embodiment of Leatherstrips samples. And the big drawing of a Gobot like thing
fighting off some tanks in a city of the future is also pretty nasty. And the "We
are one with our machines and machines becomes human" Von Heidelberg quote also
need some editing. If it wasn't because I was so well brought up, I would write
"I've got a ridiculous little dick" on the cover and call it a day.

Prediction: Of the bands not currently having a contract, I bet T&T Aggression,
Petrified Smiles, ICI and Cant will be the first to get one.

Predicament: Oh God, you're actually reading this, and I have long since decided
to hate myself for being so lengthy on matters no-one can have any interest in.

Snedker
Newsgroups: rec.music.industrial