V/A - Healer

A Closer Listen

How many experimental electronic Hungarian artists can you name?  I can’t name any … hold on, now I can name 14.  That’s the value of a good compilation, and Healer is an excellent primer for the uninitiated.  Our guess. is that these artists are not household names in Bupapest either, although people may be walking by them without knowing the talent in their midst.

As one might expect from a compilation of this sort, the styles are diverse, encompassing ambient, drone and even noise, often in the same track.  Kin Teal’s opener “heliocentric” starts in one genre and ends in another, a worthy introduction to the EXILES roster.  The title is soothing, although Gergő Kovács’ cover image is not; whatever that creature or costumed human is, it doesn’t look like a healer, and the fish seems kaput.  Yet the presentation yields the charm of a folk tale.  Perhaps in the next frame the pink-winged being will resurrect the fish.  The text is simple: “for the wounds you tend to hide.”  The music, then, is meant as an empathetic response.

After the dark drone of sudden/death’s “angel3,” AUX returns to the near-industrial flavor of the opener.  This influence continues to expand as the set deepens.  CRRNT blends industrial music with dark ambient, creating foreboding tones before adding IDM rhythms.  Maybe that fish isn’t safe after all.  Maybe the word healer is meant to draw the listener in like a candy-coated house.

előd’s “ábrándvilág” is hard-edged, but with a kind voice.  One is starting to wonder about the Hungarian character.  A quick Google search (“What are Hungarians ike?”) reveals that they are quiet and suspicious of outsiders, but that once they eat a few of them, they are very friendly.  (I added that last part.)  But the post-industrial sound is incredibly inviting, because it is intelligent and complex.  When the rapid-fire percussion of [HEATDEATH1992]’s “malformed header” lands, the brickwork has already been laid.  The same principle holds true for “skittergate sacrifice,” in which SUTA creates a moody atmosphere before littering the floor with beats.  If a DJ spun these songs, we would don our blackest attire.

It’s interesting to note the title of the penultimate piece, “how I found my peace today.”  The words seem remarkably similar to the title of swanasa’s April album on the same label: when you need to rest, let the sounds hold you.  Stereotypical “healing sounds” include chimes, flute, piano, a sample of rain.  These things work perfectly well for normal people.  We are not normal people, nor do we suspect that these are typical Hungarian artists.  If so, we’d move there.  We’ll choose the crunchy macskalany (feat. szkyf, INGATLAN) over Kenny G any day – or more fittingly, any night.  “HARSH” can be healing.  And yes, we’ll even try the fish.  (Richard Allen)