ULTRAVIRUS presents third V/A compilation 'siq~1'
ULTRAVIRUS forays into the psy-frenetic contra-net chasms of IDM ‘micro-scenes’ in their forthcoming V/A compilation 'siq~1'.
BEHOLD the return of ULTRAVIRUS ~ the net-schizzing, nebulous vortex~ oiled, rigged and ready to be slurped back into psyber_space with a third V/A compilation ‘siq~1’. The Sydney/Gadigal net.label will drop siq~1 this Friday 30th October with fifteen (15) twisted traxs motored to mind-guzzle dormant earworms back into hyp3r-activity with dangerously kinetic psy-glitch bra!nburrps! and “hi-tech Xenomorphic computer spew” hinging on bigger IDM net-abysses.
siq~1 will include five (5) post-apocalyptic omni-glitch traxs from local producers; 1800trix, Synergetix, Eek , CHANEZE, plus a CD bonus trax from cybergrind darklords Businessman & K-Owl along with an international disgorge of IDM “click’n’cutz’gutz” from the likes of Gooooose , cult glitch-abstractionist Hypercube [Cyberspeak, Section 27], Terminal 11 [Cock Rock Disco, Hymen], Russia’s noetic techno angel Rzeng and various artists from the beyond.
~Peep the tracklist below~
Artwork by Simon Villaret
Curated by Thorsten Hertog [Thick Owens, Soft Centre, ULTRAVIRUS] this “tough as nailz” high-octane compilation fronts as a “shameless ode” to IDM. On assembling the release Thorsten says,
“I wanted to focus on the sharper edges of ‘IDM’ - the tuff-stuff, clicks’n’cuts’n'gutz - up-tempo, hyper-detailed, aggressive CP-spew, with a few gagz thrown in to offset the ‘intelligence’ of it all. Recently there’s been a big infatuation with the golden era of IDM - late 90s / early oughts - see Ivkovic & Smagghe’s IDMEMO and Bayu + Moopie’s Still In My Arms compilations, but siq~1 is resolutely committed to 'newness’.
Some of the tracks I found on bedroom Soundcloud accounts, most were made to fit the brief. It took close to a year to find the right tracks for it and I’m really proud of how it came together. I encourage listening to the full thing in one go, ideally with headphones - the tracks are self-contained stories, but as a whole it’s quite cohesive in strange and unexpected ways.”
siq~1 follows recent incursions into the “post-internet hardcore” of V/A’s second compilation plunderzoneTM which dropped in mid-March 2020 and the trance-inducing gameplay dr33mphaz3r which launched in late-August.
Back Cover Artwork by Simon Villaret
“The comp sits firmly between the silly and the serious - a tension ULTRAVIRUS has always been interested in exploring. Our first event involved a day of research-heavy edutainment in lecture format followed by a night of extreme club music. Cognitive dissonance is our safe space! We’ve noticed similar feels playing out in the 2020 memesphere, i.e. politigram is littered with absurd edge-lord hot-takes on very real issues. Does comedy helps us process our overwhelming dread? Or is it just a distraction? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
IDM is wonderful but its seriousness locks it into a nostalgia loop - it feels tired sometimes - we wanted to hack it and play up all the extreme bits - emo psy-glitch sits next to a Masterchef medley, algorave holds hands with a man reviewing the soft drinks in his fridge. The title - 'Siq~1’ - looks like a computer command, but all I’m trying to say is that it’s fucking siq (sic), so stuff it into your lobes already”, says Thorsten.
Hoping to awaken and agitate the “murkiest corners of the contra-net” siq~1 accumulates only the cataclysmic bits of psy-glitch, spoken-work/net.concrete, gothic breakcore, post-internet satire and more and welds them into a genius entropic release.
Oh and here’s a little primer on what you can expect to be experiencing when listening to siq~1 (courtesy of Thorsten). Consider yourself WARNED!
Words by Lakshmi Krishnan and Thorsten Hertog.
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