Jurgen Braeckevelt | 10/01/2016 |
Finnish EBM from the early 90s? Yes, from 1985 to 1995 Advanced Art was part of the Finnish EBM scene. The duo released two albums on Poko Records, in 1993 Product and a year later Force. Now the Italian label EK comes up with the compilation Archive.
This release includes two CDs. Forward includes 17 songs. Some are taken from the two albums, others from the two EPs Scar and Time. The second CD Backwards contains 20 tracks: demos, remixes, singles and some live recordings. A must-have for true fans, but also for EBM-lovers. Despite the fact that the tracks are more than two decades old, they still sound fantastic!
The driving force in Advanced Art is the hard straightforward percussion that is layered with fast synth sequences. Very strange, as it sounds both hard and soft. No frills, just a cold monotone sound with tight bass lines, maintaining both the harmony and melody.
From Nothing To Nothing, Wake Up, ‘Til I Beg For Mercy, No-Answers No- Solutions, Lies, Flesh, and Pretender (94 mix) are true EBM-pearls. The drum machines produce deafening rhythms from their electronic brains. This is pure EBM!
Tear Open These Scars, Force Majeure, No Future, Life Before Death tend to sound more as synthpop. My brain spontaneously thinks of Depeche Mode. Some Time and Blind have incredible hard drums, while the vocoders give it a harsh electro touch.
On the second disc (Backward) there are songs that keep you awake. I Am The Labyrinth is very hard electro. The live tracks are nice, after all a lot of people probably never got the chance to see this duo on stage. The unpolished and rough demos are worth listening to, as you notice the evolution of a track. But, it’s nothing more than that. By adding the singles, we get the chance to discover the earlier work of Advanced Art that sounds more synth pop than EBM.
Archive is a nice compilation of the (short) career of Advanced Art. Many big EBM acts saw this Finnish band as a teacher, or at least as an example! Their sound is pure, and for me it is a very nice introduction!
