CONTRASTATE
“Life without Agriculture”

An album “re-imagining” some of the dadaist, futurist, and surrealist clubs of the 20th century, from Moscow 1918 over Tehran 1966 to Münster 1997; a wonderfully surprising and experimental work by the British post-industrial and ambient performance trio.
CONTRASTATE have created an amazing new work that is inspired by some historical, but also newer places (cafes, clubs, cabarets – including fantasised venues that could / should have existed), relating to the glorious times of the ‘true’ avantgarde.
“The arc that links them all is the experimentation, the exchange of ideas, and the platform to perform free from the “social norms” of the time.” [Stephen Meixner of Contrastate]
The dreamy first half of the album establishes a very sombre and melancholic mood, but when the central pieces “London 1912” and “Zurich 1916” enter it leads to more collagenous and experimental areas, using guitar and bass harmonics, pulsing analogue electronics, spoken words, and all kinds of samples and weird processed sounds. The versatility especially of the second half allows for a fully immersive listening experience, with a vast array of details and twists.
“Imagination is subversive, because it puts the possible against the real. That’s why you should always use your wildest imagination. Imagination is the biggest gift humanity has received. Imagination makes people human, not work…” [Jan Švankmajer, “Decalogue”, Touch Movements, 2017].
CONTRASTATE, formed in 1987, are a trio from London that have operated on the edge of experimental ambient, dark post-industrial, and performative art areas, often using spoken word lyrics with a strong political, anti-imperialistic approach/agitation. Their early 7″ for Drone Records “English Embers” (DR-05) became one of the highlights in the series.