Experimental Electronic
RIYL: LCD Soundsystem, The Cure, Cocteau Twins
From his forthcoming release in February, Here Lies we’ve got two tracks from Jorge Elbrecht. Teeming with gooey, experimental electronic these songs serve as a great preview for what’s to come from the rest of the record. Now, while I could serve platitude upon platitude about Elbrecht’s music, he’s stated his position on music, are and the creation therein. That said, from the person, in their own voice:
From Jorge Elbrecht’s Facebook Page:
The musician & visual artist once known as Jorge Elbrecht is now a thin, wrinkled shell of what he used to be. Today, he’s an atrophied chassis containing a confused grey jellyfish which meanders from one foggy idea to the next, unable to focus. From his interdisciplinary work as a member of Lansing-Dreiden, to multimedia collaborations with artist Max Hooper Schneider, to his guitar pop band Violens, to his work with artists like Ariel Pink, Gang Gang Dance, Tamaryn, No Joy, Ice Choir, Kirin J. Callinan and Frankie Rose–it’s clear Elbrecht had sought continually to connect with the subconscious through art. Now under the close care of family, an acute depression which must have risen from a disenchantment with the culture of the time, has taken over. The art, music and poetry that Elbrecht was so passionate and driven by for the first half of his life had fallen to the ways of the “mindless, like-based new,” and therefore perhaps there was no other option but for him to fast-forward into his own physiological twilight.
During this 10-year period of rapid deterioration there were countless recordings attempted, and quite a few completed. Musical co-conspirators assisted in the capture of these songs, and Elbrecht himself finalized a great deal of them, but could not see a reason to release them to the public. The projects were scattered, almost as if there were an attempt to create his own contained musical subculture. They featured a variety of stylistic entities to enjoy depending on one’s mood. Much like an obsessive owner taxidermies and displays a deceased pet, Elbrecht’s final coherent years found him struggling to prop-up and surround himself with the type of art and music he felt he had lost to commercialism and the culture industry’s lack of curiosity. “He wished he existed in a time where he could enjoy the world around him… I think he was trying his hardest to block it out with things he preferred,” gathers the artist’s father.
As bleak as this state of affairs may be, far more dismal is the notion that this music would never be heard. Therefore, there is currently an effort to bring these completed works to light. Thankfully, today Elbrecht cares and says very little about anything at all, seemingly fine with those close to him making his music available to all. The first of many releases is a double-vinyl pressing entitled Jorge Elbrecht Here Lies, which contains roughly an EP’s worth of songs from four very different projects: Presentable Corpse, Gloss Coma, REMYNYS, and Coral Cross. Elbrecht had a vision and a trajectory planned for each of these, and those behind the album art have attempted to represent it as closely as possible. The projects vary greatly–from the tape-saturated flexidisc shimmer of Presentable Corpse, to the early 90s rack unit hi-fi of REMYNYS, to the pulsing, full-frequency speaker utilization of Gloss Coma, to Coral Cross’ grindingly distorted blasts & gasps. More is sure to come, as it would appear that there is quite a substantial catalog to disseminate. The intention of all involved–his family, freinds and record label–is to continue playing the music, keeping Elbrecht’s previous tenacity, imagination and dreams for more, alive. Perhaps the spirit has left the vessel, but it can surely live on through the words and melodies therein.
