Samuel KerridgeFatal Light Attraction

Samuel Kerridge has returned to Downwards for a stunning new full-length “Fatal Light Attraction” (FLA). This conceptual album is based on his performance in the Berlin Atonal festival conducted in collaboration with Andrej Boleslavsky and Maria Judova. During the show, a moving shadow was generated, which responded to the powerful and physical sounds emanating from the speakers. Unsurprisingly, the fact that the album is a concept piece based on a live performance makes it feel slightly more extroverted and relatively lighter than his previous effort “Always Offended Never Ashamed” (OONA). If the latter was Kerridge’s most abstract album owing more to the harshness of noise/power electronics or the depths of dark ambient, rather than sharp industrialised techno, FLA is a more physical experience, a dynamic narrative, which sounds really big and intense and could easily fill a large arena-type space. It seems that FLA is a realisation of this lurking tension that haunted OONA and it is in a way a more accessible, improvisational and playful album.

All the seven pieces present a coherent narrative, which follows the path of constant climaxes and denouements, but never loses its grip and maintains the tension. FLA 1 sets off with a short outburst of piercing noise before delving into heavy pulsations and intense rhythms, while FLA 2 and 3 intensify the speed even more and shock the listener with compulsive and electrified sonic attacks. The 4th and 5th parts slow things down a bit, but just for them to return with even more power. The album closes in an uneasy and hypnotic way. Distorted vocals occasionally emerge and add a spicy touch to the mix, introducing the threat of this harsher layer. But the overall experience and relative heaviness of FLA leaves a listener in a state of awe mixed with pleasant exhaustion. It does not have this oppressive mood, which sometimes prevails on his releases of industrialised/experimental techno. Rhythms are sharp and form the backbone of the album, the tightness of the sound maintains the attention for its whole span, and there are no unnecessary distractions. The sound is sharp, straight-forward, concise and futuristic. However, this is not designed for an intimate home-listening as these pulsations demand a large neutral space, where they could flourish. They could otherwise serve as a good headphone companion for a night drive through brutalist urban landscapes. But at the same time it is a pretty multifunctional piece of art and could work both for physical and emotional purposes.