Mod303 - Exercices

Mod303 - Exercices

Verdict: 4.5/5
Label

Archipel

CATALOG NO

ARCH117

RELEASE DATE

2015

Written By

Beatrice Sommer

Published

July 27, 2015

I came across mod303 while digging through the variety of Archipel, a label conducted by Canadian DJ and producer Pheek. It was a mix by Yaroslav Lenzyak that got me there, so it was quite surprising to find all their obscure experimental releases next to minimal tracks and podcasts. Nonetheless, considering the fact that Pheek himself is a sound enthusiast with a strong background in the minimal scene, it's no wonder he decided to put both of his passions into Archipel which I highly recommend.

mod303 is the beyond genres project of Jeremy and Nicolas Carrasco, two Parisian brothers born to create the unheard. While Jeremy pushes minimal techno to extremes under mod2, Nicolas is the melodic one of the two. 303box is his trippy project of tracks that, at times, seem to be made out of lounge music chops.

Finally united under a single name, the Carrasco brothers released their 'Exercices'' LP as mod303, an extraordinary piece of sound exploration that exceeds any kind of expectations and abilities to predict what is to come next.

''Exercice 1'' is the sound of things falling apart (no intentions to invoke Nine Inch Nails) while others are being assembled. Instead of having the aura of optimism and/or pessimism, it takes a step into plain mechanical dimension. Actually, it wouldn't be wrong at all to call it an industrial piece (still no intentions to invoke Nine Inch Nails).

The second track is a graceful introduction to the human touch which is to come in peaks throughout the rest of the album. ''Exercice 3'' confirms this intention with an unpredictable echoing vocal sample that spawns itself like a series of furious waves around the ticking track.

The story continues with ''Exercices 4'' which begins and ends with a gripping sound resembling something that doesn't even exist, a piano alarm. It is the return to the unfriendly, yet warm and enthralling environment of the foundry. This time the feeling and memories of the workers are also revealed. They are twisting and melting, slipping in and out of the factual reality locked withing the striking walls. At 7:21 a song tries to make its way into the mind, but this attempt is wiped out for a while by the imposing sounds around. It is like semantic satiation, you repeat a word until it loses meaning. But this happens the other way round in music.

Loop based music, as experimental producer Helm described it, ''can lock the listener into a bizarre, semi-hypnotic state. In the right context it can open up another kind of listening entirely, where abstract sounds and repeating phrases take on rhythmic and trance-like qualities.'' In the foundry, you hear certain sounds for so many times that you can choose which ones to focus on. Not only that, but you can merge them with the ones in your mind at some point... beauty is in the ear of the beholder.

After all these perceptional struggles, ''Exercice 5'' brings a sense of detachment with it. Activity takes over time for 13 minutes. The human condition is reshaped to physical abilities and utilization of the body. Cognition is taken over by the compulsory ambition to strip the being off its mind in order to become a more efficient tool withing the complex machine.

Tracklist:

1. Exercice 1
2. Exercice 2
3. Exercice 3
4. Exercice 4
5. Exercice 5