Pure’s Ification is an oft-unsettling stylistic travelogue whose range extends far beyond the backyard. Uncompromising experimental electronic workouts sit side-by-side with modern classical and cinematic soundscaping in the Berlin-based artist’s collection. Since 1992, Peter Votava has issued more than thirty CDs and vinyl releases of solo and collaborative works under different aliases, with Ification arriving six years after his previous studio release Noonbugs (Mego). Pure begins with “Fire,†an ear-piercing, molten overture of stabbing guitar playing (courtesy of Digital Hardcore artist Christoph de Babalon) that ensures the listener will be fully alert at the start of the trip. Slightly easier on the ears is “After the Bomb,†a long-form funereal meditation that blends shuddering haze, organ flurries, and percussive accents by Radian drummer Martin Brandlmayr into a cinematic set-piece of dramatic portent. “Approximation†combines the low, foghorn-like bellow of horns, the scrape of strings, and percussive flourishes into a six-minute setting similar in style to a contemporary classical composition. At this stage, the album moves into Mego-like territory with “Night Flight,†an epic, rippling mass of deep string swells and firestorms of electronic spatter; “Sonomatopeia,†dotted with electronic blisters of bass swells and Alexandra von Bolzn’s demonic vocal effects; and “End,†which immerses the listener within a sixteen-minute cauldron of lethal bass swells and stabs (courtesy of Anke Eckardt). A final surprise comes at disc’s end when the deathly post-rock of “Metal Sky†places the percussive inventions of Brandlmayr at the forefront. Pure presents a not always pretty but nevertheless remarkable sound world where the listener never knows what direction the next piece will take.
via Textura