STM 103 - Lustmord

The author of the mix is Brian Williams (b. 1959), better known as Lustmord - an accomplished British electronic musician, composer, sound designer and visual artist based in Los Angeles, United States. He is often credited for starting the dark ambient genre with albums recorded under the name Lustmord. Williams started recording at the time when he was assisting the seminal industrial band SPK in the early 1980s. His music could be described as sweeping, profound, with dreamlike soundscapes oscillating and colliding into each other within a perplexing matrix. Throughout the last 3 decades, Lustmord has released more than 20 critically acclaimed records on such labels as Hydra Head Records, Blackest Ever Black, as well as his own imprints - Side Effects, Vaultworks and others.

“Secret Thirteen Mix 103” is an intuitive and sensuous audio selection that reveals Lustmord’s early musical influences as well as recently found gems that he adores listening to at home. Some of the mixed tracks have had a direct influence on his personal creations, especially on the spaces between notes in his work. According to Lustmord, his mix doesn’t hide any specific emotional narrative and doesn’t carry any hidden messages behind the fluently developing wholeness. However, the sounds presented here imply a conceptual base - thoughtfully developed and emotionally charged. Even though these diverse tracks cover the attitudes of many different generations to composition and recording principles, Lustmord has found an excellent way of transforming his eclectic vision into one coherent recording. The compilation includes tracks from 19 records released between 1957 and 2009. Unforgettable and kaleidoscopic works by honourable musicians such as Jacob Miller, Bohren & Der Club Of Gore, Keith Hudson, Rhythm & Sound, Locust, Mark Pritchard and other talents work to relax and awaken one’s sensitivity. There are also 2 original soundtracks taken from legendary films - “Alien” and “Get Carter”, as well as ethnic music from the historical compilation “Negro Prison Songs”. The mix also includes Lustmord’s dubby remix of Puscifer’s track “Children of Dub”. It is not surprising to hear a lot of subtly echoing and lightly waving production included in this mix, because Lustmord was listening to dub music and purchasing Jamaican vinyls since the late 1970’s. The basis of this compilation stands on the mostly live recorded viscous rhythm patterns, expressive singing, intense textures transferred through pedal effects and the whole gradually-shifting atmosphere, saturated with masterfully played guitar chords, subtle percussion and rich melodies generated with different live instruments. There are, however, some high-quality abyssal and cosmic, strictly electronic music too. Due to its complex dynamics, this versatile selection remarkably fits a private listen. The mood and tension in Lustmord’s mix are reminiscent of Salvador Dali’s expressionistic painting “Moonlight”, where abstract forms create a state of mystery and nostalgia of the mind and soul. Finally it is a great reincarnation of valuable records, summoned by a real musical sorcerer.