Always is twentysomething Alex Vivian and F.I.S.T. (Freedom In Shit Together – nice!) is his first full-length release. This has to be one of the most uncompromising, difficult releases ever released by a Melbourne-based artist. There are just six tracks on this 46 minute CD (with one track running to a punishing 20+ minute length), and all of the sounds used come from Alex’s voice, which he samples and loops to produce dense meshes of sound. Random rhythms emerge and evaporate into the mix during the course of each piece, and the vocals are used for sonic rather than semantic content. Imagine the victim of a cruel medical experiment attempting a cover version of Steve Reich’s ‘It’s Gonna Rain’ – yes it’s that bad/good. You either like this sort of thing or you don’t. I don’t. However, Always has a most singular musical vision, and I’ll give him credit for that.
For MP3 previews click here
Ewan Burke
