Namanax

Namanax is the project of multi-instrumentalist Bill Yurkiewicz, who operates out of his studio in Pennsylvania. His mission is to produce loud noise through the layering of multiple sources of sound. Multi-Phase Electrodynamics (Release, 1993) and Cascading Waves Of Electronic Turbulence (Release, 1996) were recorded live and were notable mainly for their intensity, enough to make even Gordon Mumma waver. Yurkiewicz is joined by James Plotkin on Audiotronic (Release, 1997), a work that increases the doses of guitar experimentation but also toned down the violence. Plotkin helps create textures rather than mere tsunami of noise. Monstrous (Release, 1998), which is basically a continuation of Audiotronic, contains four lengthy pieces inspired to the soundtracks for monster movies. Monstrous (15:02) should be titled "march of the monsters", as an industrial rhythm is covered with abrasive noise. The piece is particularly scary because is structured as a crescendo, leaving the impression of a gigantic, ugly wave that is getting closer and closer. The Larval Stage (17:09) is thick, frantic chirping of millions of tiny rodents, an apocalyptic variation on the theme of Pink Floyd's Small Furry Animals. Noise is diluted and streamlined in the epic-length and cinematic Journey to the Battle of Varanax (29:43), which borrows from Klaus Schulze's cosmic frescoes to create a bleak form of ambient music, one that maximizes tension through inaction, one that stretches minuscule sonic events until they become catastrophes. As the texture gets busier and busier, one gets the feeling of a documentary of some prehistoric accident: cracks that rip apart the earth, avalanches that corrode mountains, lava that erupts from mud. The scenes are filmed from very far, so the noises are barely audible, but one can sense the extent of the devastation. The most hair-rising track is actually the least spectacular: Promethean Screams (9:58) is a sceeching drone wrapped in mild dissonances, like the echo of a distant galaxy through a gravitational warp. Bill Yurkiewicz plays guitars, bass, samples and electronics; James Plotkin plays guitars and sound effects; Kipp Johnson plays synthesizer and samples. Bill Yurkiewicz is also involved in a side-project with bassist Kipp Johnson, Solarus and a little help from James Plotkin. Empty Nature (Release, 1998) features seven pieces for lazy basslines and sound effects, including the eerie, ambient Messianic Slur 1 , and Malignant Soul Punisher 2 . Solarus' Crystallized (Release, 1998) contains four new compositions and three remixes from the previous album. The repetitive, minimalistic patterns over steady beat of Crystallized are the exception to a rule that prescribes seismic, dub-like thuds as the foundations of dark blues like Mute God or abstract noise frescoes like Abject Manipulator. https://myspace.com/namanax http://www.discogs.com/artist/75325-Namanax https://www.facebook.com/pages/Namanax/172221839546078 Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.