Nothin' Sez Somethin': I Feel so Disconnected

10 July 2014

I Feel so Disconnected

I was working on getting more of the artists/releases from the Nurse With Wound list. That made me realize that I hadn’t posted any NWW for a while. Decided to post up this collaboration between ferocious British electronics experts NWW & phenomenal Krautrock icons Faust.

Legend has it that Steven Stapleton was so impressed by Faust that he travelled to Faust's headquarters at Wumme (only to find that they were off on tour at the time). So a collaboration between the two groups is not such an unforeseen idea. Here we a line-up featuring Zappi Diermaier, Steven Stapleton, Jean-Herve Peron, Colin Potter, & Amaury Cambuzat.

Disconnected starts right off with absolute sonic majesty featuring the hypnotic rhythms of "Lass Mich". The initial psychedelic vibrancy of "Lass Mich" is redolent of the Faust crew. The material sounds like it could have come from the classic recording sessions at Wumme, the band sounding as strong here as in their youth. Diermaier's percussion is full of raw energy combined with well-refined precision.

It's not long before the far-flung concrète machinations of NWW take hold of the album's sonic make-up. The album's title track is an ethereal drone piece with time-stretched vocals, loaded with tension & a jarringly discordant conglomeration of organic & synthetic tones. There are many times when the music is unmistakably Stapleton & Potter but it would be wrong to suggest that they are the main drive behind the sound. Faust bring their fair share to the mix. Peron's bass on "It will Take Time" is a simple two-note refrain but it resonates with mammoth power.

The symbiosis between the two groups seems to comes naturally. At many times it is hard to tell where one band begins & the other ends. Any Nurse With Wound fans who have not ventured into the world of Faust should be inspired by this to go out & explore the jaw dropping back catalogue amassed by the group. Equally, curious Faust fans should pick up on Steven Stapleton's work on the strength of Disconnected.

There have been several versions of this title released. The original release featured only the first four tracks. There have been several later releases with four additional songs, three from Faust (Chemiin Est le Bon, What Turns You On?, & The Nog-Nog Wag-Wag Thing) & one NWW tune (Fine Writin' [for Lil' Fishy]).

The limited edition that I’m featuring here was issued in a run of 500 copies containing an extra audio track (track 6 - "Hard Rain"). The track titled "Silence" (track 5) is in fact just silence. There is no difference between the packaging of the limited edition & the regular edition. The bonus tracks are not listed on the tracklist but are mentioned on a sticker attached to the shrink wrap.