In the wake of their recent inaugural “Konkrete’ compilation, this self-titled debut album from enigmatic Hungarian producer Blackfilm represents only the second release for Spectraliquid, a new Greek independent electronic label founded by Mobthrow, Subheim, Katja and Xsoz. While at first glance the suitably foreboding sleeve art depicting rain-lashed seawalls and barren trees under a stormy sky had me initially expecting a listen somewhere in the vein of dark ambient or industrial-tinged IDM, Blackfilm takes his main cues and influences from distinctly different sources, resulting in a collection that’s a fresh breath of air amongst a scene dominated by those two aforementioned increasingly well-mined subgenres. Rather than doomy synths and complex breakcore rhythmic programming, here the main focus falls upon brooding downbeat atmospheres with a noirish aesthetic that suggests the influence of composers such as Angelo Badalamenti at play here.
Perhaps more than anything else though, it’s Amon Tobin’ ominous orchestral forays circa “Supermodified’ that are called to mind here amidst the horror-movie orchestral stabs and skittering jazz cymbals of opener “Come & See’ and in the eerily detuned piano keys and flange-reverbed snare rolls of “Interference.’ Rather than simply paying homage to one of his (apparent) favourite producers however, Blackfilm succeeds in building a palpable sense of atmosphere and suspense that’s all his own, with the poisoned-sounding Latin traces inherent in Tobin’ works replaced here by an approach that draws far more from the work of Eastern European classical composers; “Stalingrad’ engrossing fusion of restless swelling orchestration and steel-edged hiphop rhythms providing an apt case in point. An extremely impressive debut from a Hungarian producer who’ adeptly managed to side-step virtually all of the dark IDM / industrial scene’ established cliches; marking Blackfilm out as a name to watch in the future.
