STM 299 - Slave To Society

Slave To Society is a new project of Andrew Bowen, one half of Manchester duo AnD and Shadows – two different sides of his prolific, ever-evolving collaboration with Dmitri Poumplidis. While AnD left their mark on techno with some very unpredictable, decidedly tough music, Shadows explore murkier sounds and textures, replacing straightforward aggression for nuanced severity. Bowen's solo venture as Slave To Society merges both of these aspects in a complex beast of a release that is his eponymous EP on BANK Records NYC. Heavy with noise and distortion, “Slave To Society” is a dirty, furious blend of industrial and hardcore, where relentless beats layer over hermetic abstractions and give way to raw tension. Bowen’s new project takes his confrontational experiments to another level, and so does his mix for our journal, full of enigmatic, quirky tunes.

STM 299 is a reflection of Bowen’s attitude towards music as a space of freedom and resistance. Somber introduction of Milanese’s “One Eye” mixed with Christoph de Babalon’s “High Life pt 2” morphs into hard irregular rhythms that will simply force you to move around as you listen to this mix. As the beats get grittier and faster, venturing into the territory of deconstructed hardcore, there is that delicious frantic purge before it slows down again with some steely, disorienting textures of Loraine James’ “London Thing/Dark As Fuck”. It only goes to show what this mix is about - a gripping selection of artists brave enough to do their own thing, from Bowen’s old favorites such as JK Flesh to uncompromising labels like Planet Mu, Ant-Zen or Portals Editions. The second part of the mix is pure industrial hell. “Imperial Majesty” by JK Flesh adds a hint of melody and Distel’s “Wapens” provides a suitably warped finale with its crude vocals and black metal atmosphere.

Exploring the extremities of the hardcore sound, tempo unrelated this is about pushing dynamics as far as they can be pushed. Industrial and experimental noise music mixed with electronic rhythms from techno to jungle. Think for ourselves, create and move outside the realm of ordinary submission, don’t be a slave to society!