Antithèse

Returning to BPitch for his second solo EP on the label, French producer and live artist Crystal Geometry lines up a powerful package of kaleidoscopic electronics.

Having built a distinct aesthetic with an analog modular synth at its core, Maxime Fabre’s Crystal Geometry alias is an ever-evolving project that explores the meeting points of post-punk and metal with industrial techno and warehouse music, nodding to the energy of 90s rave culture and the unrestrained catharsis of noise. Also key to his practice are the use of live vocals, which burn and dissolve their way throughout the release, from death metal screams to disorienting spoken word.

On Antithèse, four different patterns carefully expand around marching kick drums of varying intensities. ‘FCKTHNZS’ layers hypnotic guitar strings over powerful drums and leads them forward with unrelenting screams – a pure sonic purge. ‘Désordres’ features circular arpeggios that ebb and flow through different keys whilst an anti-authoritative voice layers distorted lyrics over the top. ‘Creepy Body’ is straight up EBM / industrial mania with precisely engineered percussion and a relentless pace. Rounding things off, ‘Golpe De Estado’ is an uncanny trip through sheets of spoken word and sound design that weave in between each other to dizzying effect.

Merging sonic aspects from his previous releases, as well as a various techniques from live improvisation, Antithèse is a distillation of subcultural spirit into new found energies.