MARA'S TORMENT (Rik MacLean)

chill

secret music

body music

all self-released and all (2003)

review by Bill Binkelman

These three albums offer solid proof that Rik MacLean (a.k.a. mara's torment) can handle himself in any one of the many subgenres that fall under the umbrella term of "ambient" nowadays. From dance/rave numbers that pulse with passionate energy and forceful beats to contemporary electronica in the house of glitch to atmospheric layers of synthesizers wafting lazily in the air to darker textural soundscapes that linger and hover infiltrating the corners of your mind to more abstract pieces that defy categorization, the man displays abundant talent and technique everywhere on these recordings.

Of these three CDs, my favorite is the more accessible (to my ears, at least) body music which also contains the catchiest most dance-oriented numbers as well (body music also has several remixes of songs from secret music as well as originals too). In a twist of irony, the album chill is the least approachable (of these three, that is) to me, due to the abstract nature of some of the tracks, such as the opening "remembering something new" which loops reverbed resonating tones and textures with fuzzy noise effects and bizarre bursts of what might be distorted vocals. However, even on chill, MacLean offers some nuggets, like the glitchy/trippy "your pieces of me" which pulses cyber-organically with a blend of electronic beats and frame drum rhythms, morphing into snare beats mirrored in shimmering haunting synthesizers. "the hierarchy of emotions" paints an ethereal yet vaguely disturbing alien soundscape of female vocal samples, crystalline notes, and rumbling drones, while "forgotten" eventually erupts into a Jeff Greinke-like symbiosis of kinetic unusual hand percussion with electronic shadows flowing underneath the beats.

secret music blends some of chill's idiosyncratic characteristics into a somewhat more structured and accessible framework. Not as high in energy as body music, secret music is more about creating an atmospheric blend of beats and synthesizers/drones, such as on the opening "your journey begins" which features a mellow beat comprised of both repeating patterns of synth notes and shuffling rhythms, set off by radio interference buzzing that holds a strangely enticing appeal. "ride the long train" opens with cool glitchy and snare/high hat beats, set against ping pong-ing electronics and a floating lush synth line underneath it all. Unlike some other ambient practitioners, MacLean does not evolve the music drastically from its starting point, but instead concentrates on finding a nice groove to settle into and making minor mid-course corrections to the main thrust of the music's engines. "nostalgia" is full of weird electronics, chill-out beats and an eerie feeling of being slightly off-kilter. "loss" is one of my faves on this disc with a refrain played on what sounds like sampled organ, set off by hand percussion and atmospheric whirring textures, with additional multiple layers of other types of rhythms later in the cut. I love how subtly haunting the music is, as if one were slinking down a back alley on the prowl for who knows what. "voyage" is a somber melancholy slice of minimalism, close in spirit to the music of the enigmatic duo Austere, with plaintive acoustic guitar, hushed electronic atmospheres, and twinkling bell tones deep in the mix. "breathe" (a remix of which is on body music) contains a sampled exhalation of human breath, a strangely distorted violin sample, snare crashes, clicking and bass beats, and ends up oozing a pleasant kind of creepiness.

body music (which includes remixes of five tracks from secret music) is much more about turning up the energy and bringing the electronic beats to bear on making your synapses fire in syncopation with the rhythms. However, "nothing ever happens here" opens the album with the most abstract cut on the CD and one of the least beat-oriented. Sounding like the hum and flash of multiple mazes of circuitry, the piece glows softly with electricity and subdued menace. "i'll never be warm again," the next track, features dense layers of swirling synths and a low key beat at the outset, somewhat reminiscent of music from Crown Invisible on the Cursor Club label. The intensity and volume of the music build then subside then build again, never truly cresting but making the listener hunger for ecstatic release. That release begins to occur on the remix of "your journey ends" which, after a brief ambient-like textural opening, boils over into a mixture of bouncy synths and chirping beats over a background of eerie whistling tones and booming rustling percussive effects. Track 4, "charmed" is a fantastic chill-out song, peppered with zapping synths that ebb and flow, percolating midtempo electronica beats, and a certain warmth which flows through the song like a cybernetic river winding its way through a futuristic countryside. This is one of the most accessible tracks on all three of these CDs and could fit comfortably on an album from Waveform, Spiralight, or any other contemporary electronic label. Things start to heat up seriously on "invitations and seductions ver4 rev2" which churns from a quiet start into a propulsive dance club number literally ablaze with assorted synths and peppered with lively snare and high hat beats, carried along by some tasty sampled electric guitar leads in the background. "l'kechala" explodes with ultra-rapid pure electronica beats and multiple synth lines all racing along at lightspeed underneath the rhythms. My favorite selection on this outstanding CD, though, is the remix of "swing" which just begs to be cranked up to max volume as the assorted synths, the high hat and snare beats, and the unbelievably sexy vibe to the song put me in mind of the scene in Basic Instinct when Sharon Stone danced alluringly with her female lover while Michael Douglas watched with eyes afire with lust. Yeah, this track is that hot, in my opinion. It may only be eight minutes of that same incessant rhythm and those haunting synthesizers, but what a great eight minutes it is!

While these are not the most recent efforts from Rik MacLean, they aptly showcase an artist who has so much talent and versatility that people who claim to love electronica or ambient music and who don't own one of his albums should be literally ashamed of themselves. No matter what type of EM/ambient/chill-out/etc. you personally favor, there has got to be something here that will light you up and set you free. While I would rate these three albums in the following order: body music, secret music, chill, that's just my personal preference. All three recordings are great and it's just a matter of visiting the mara's torment musical cafeteria and making your selection. Hey, what could be easier?