Author: Sandi Sadar Šoba
Artist: BeatMyth
Label: Kapa Records
Released: 2012
Runtime: 58:42
Rating: 4.6/5
The second time around is usually easier, but in music it’s precisely the second cut that separates the happy accident of a debut from the true inspiration of a potent musician. In the case of the Velenje/Novo mesto tandem BeatMyth the matter is all the more pressing, because the band’s masterminds Mike Preeters (a.k.a. Mitja Pritržnik) and DJ PalnkTon (a.k.a. Igor Vuk) already kicked up quite a bit of dust and drew plenty of attention a couple of years back – two, to be exact – with the record Your Own Two Heads. Largely because part of the creative trust was also a guest musician and indispensable link between the breakbeats, the rhythmic taming of frequencies and the window-rattling in our rooms: the gifted guru of the mic and fast rhymes, the singer of Moveknowledgement, N’toko (a.k.a. Miha Blažič). Truth be told, I fought off the temptation to succumb to dub, breakbeat and drum&bass for a good long while, because apart from Prodigy, the Chemical Brothers and the dark trip of Massive Attack (and Tricky too), very few electronic experiments have left a mark on me. But I have to admit – the flailing was in vain, and to my own loss.
BeatMyth’s second record is a juicy and truly devastating piece of work that combines the organic beauty of the analog with the brutal sharpness of the digital, and what’s even more convincing is that the whole thing is balanced and has serious punch. One more reason for enthusiasm is that under the roof of this electronic dance rocket of pure adrenaline there’s plenty of room for other talented musicians who make up the fan of the Slovenian alternative avant-garde. The opening track Digital Desire is an inspired intro that, in the manner of the Chemical Brothers, weaves in and breathes out the sharp atmosphere of an uncompromising beat, made for dancing and drowning in full textures. The task is simple, because on most of the record N’toko is fully employed, giving the whole thing an even better sound, aftertaste and easier digestibility. The dance aesthetic of rave, trance, binary calculations, noise and rhythmic attack is nice enough on its own, but with a dash of vocals the slide down the chute of pleasure gets much easier. The track S!CK is a gorgeous textbook example of breakbeat beauty, and the precise production surgically implants slivers of manipulated sound into a futuristic image of outer space, which can easily reach beyond the borders of Slovenia too.
The Source is a danceably playful interpretation of what Moveknowledgement have lately managed to pour into our ears, and if we add that the drummer of that Novo mesto stage attraction, David Cvelbar, naturally weaves into the digital matrix behind the kit, any further comment is superfluous. Still, this isn’t imitation or recreating what’s already been seen and heard in an irritating way; the whole thing has its own hefty pair of balls. Electric Manland is a consistent reinterpretation of the Moveknowledgement universe, with DJ PlankTon and Mike Preeters sucking the essence out of the heart of the record Pump Down!, but what you hear isn’t an identical clone; it takes on a more astral sound that isn’t clichéd. BeatMyth are masters of unpredictability, keeping you on high alert, on the lookout and in a state of astonishment the whole time. Hot is a hellishly hot stampede of rhythm and tectonic virtuosity that, at 170 beats per minute, bends and crumbles the walls of mental spheres in a phobic, slightly claustrophobic way, but it’s precisely those fears that fill the lungs with air that forces you to scream, while the magnetic beauty of Hell, in the way Prodigy grafted it into our DNA, forces you to move and your heart to discharge. After the rather mellow Arp (it just doesn’t pack as much napalm as the rest, does it?) BeatMyth tame the raging beast and shift it into a lower, more ominous gear. On the track Hello N’toko booms like an incarnation of Cypress Hill, and a dialogue with God and the Devil can’t rest on synthesizers alone, so guitars and solid drums get woven into the fabric of the verbal narrative. Flesh may be perishable, but the synthesis with electronics rubs the oil of cybernetic punkiness into the mind, and cyborgs can easily spin to the crossover rhythm of the track Analog. A rather odd combination of guitars, synths and drums, it’s the medley with which BeatMyth sail into the second half of an outstanding record.
Questionable Image picks up the thread of the previous track, only now N’toko’s vocal is added to the tincture of the guitar-thinned rhythm. Dark, alluring and apocalyptically direct, it questions forms and clichés, yet the coherence of what you hear suffers not one bit for it. Among the more distinctive moments of the record is also the track Connect The Dots, where the intellectualism and enigmatic quality of the lyrics give the otherwise fragile skeleton of sped-up rhythm a mystical foundation. In true Terminator style, BeatMyth then decide to add a few liters, or rather hectoliters, of darkness with the track Leviathan. The industrially cold whistling of the synthesizers cuts as precisely as a pneumatic hammer, and the Phobos atmosphere escalates with a “chopped-up breakbeat” and MC-style, seasoned ramping up of suspense. More terrifying than the monster itself is the anticipation of its arrival and the awareness that it’s knocking and scratching at the doors and shutters. Brighter contours are served up by the track Discoland, where singer Katja Šulc takes the mic, and the feminine twist brings a drop more freshness to the whole and undoubtedly a lot more Sun than N’toko’s verbal meter, which I personally lean toward more. Darkness is a lovely virtue, which Dubbb, with its vocal-free look and defragmented harmonies, only hints at; the closing cut Trumpet, which at the start recalls the rhythmic backing of some Michael Jackson track before growing into one last sonic desacralization of purity, can’t be topped. The curtains fall, and all that’s left is to wipe off the sweat and wring out the last drops of drool.
BeatMyth are talented musicians, and what counts here more than the mere outline is a fully formed idea that leaves absolutely nothing to chance. Some have accused them of sticking too much to MC bravado and clichés. Personally, I think they’ve simply found their comfort zone, a field of ease they completely master. There’s no pretentious rambling. No conformist slogans about being better and smarter than the rest of the world. Just music and dance, which BeatMyth serve up in their own slightly mystical way. The darkness is alluring, the gloom tasty, and what you hear is above the Slovenian average, suitable even for a move from club basements to bigger stages. That’s at least my humble opinion, and opinions are a matter and reflection of personal taste …
Line-up
DJ PlankTon – turntables, sound synthesizer, production
Mike Preeters – turntables, sound synthesizer, mastering
Guest musicians:
N’Toko – vocals
Jani Jež – guitar
Mitja Rambaher – guitar
Rum Cunta – guitar
Illegaldrum – trombone
David Cvelbar – hi-hat
Perica Šuran – drums
Katja Šulc – backing vocals
Production
BeatMyth
Track List
1. Digital Desire
2. S!CK feat. N’toko
3. The Source
4. Moveknowledgement – Electric Manland (BeatMyth rmx)
5. Hot feat. N’toko
6. Arp feat. N’toko
7. Hello! feat. N’toko
8. Analog
9. Questionable Image feat. N’toko
10. Connect The Dots feat. N’toko
11. Leviathan feat. N’toko
12. Discoland feat. N’toko
13. Dubbb
14. Trumpet (bonus track)
