Year: 2025
Label: Zoharum

This here’s a weird album. Apparently, Stephen Āh Burroughs of Tunnels Of Āh fame got his hands on some recordings by Polish Genetic Transmission and was so impressed by them, he decided to do his own reinterpretation or reworking of the material. The results are, obviously, this album.

The promo sheet doesn’t go into any depths as to what “reinterpretation” means. All I have to go on is what the cover of the promo slipcase says: the source material was composed and recorded by Genetic Transmission’s sole member Tomasz Twardawa. The final results, I suppose, are Burroughs.

I admit to not being too familiar with Frag, Burroughs’ more experimental project. But I am somewhat familiar with Genetic Transmission, and based on that, I will say that this sounds very much like Genetic Transmission.

From the found sounds and field recordings – train tracks, canine voices, human voices etc. – to the slow, carefully evolving layers of abstract noise, this all feels very much like Genetic Transmission. Compared to the Genetic Transmission album we very recently reviewed, Zoharum’s re-release of My Inspiration Is You (review), there are many parallels.

In a very similar vein, this album is abstract noise, yes, but it’s not very abrasive, harsh or confrontational. On the contrary, there is a deeply introverted nature to much of this music. It does not explode outwards with cacophonous rage, but rather coils inwards with its understated, simplistic and often minimally evolving layers of sound.

Take for example the last of the five unnamed tracks. For large parts of its 21+ minute duration, it consists primarily of a rather static, electronic buzzing. It does modulate and fluctuate a bit, but essentially it’s rather static. Over, under and beside it are layered various processed sounds – human voices, strange zappings, dogs barking, various things clanking – but the focal point remains the monotonous buzzing. To me, the word to describe this is introverted: it’s as if the music explores some inner world; some internal, subjective meaning to the minimalistic, monotonous buzzing outsiders cannot hear, oblivious to anyone and anything around.

And I must admit… well, it gets sort of tedious at times. You have to be very heavily into understated, minimalist, abstract noise to get into this stuff. I’m not ashamed to admit my tastes in industrial and noise are geared towards something very different.

I guess it’s quite accurate to say that if you’re a fan of Genetic Transmission, then Frag’s reimagining will interest you. There’s a rather obvious context here, which is that you need to have a more than superficial knowledge of, insight into and liking for Twardawa’s work to be able to truly appreciate this.

If not, then this is not for you. I fall more into this latter group.

Visit Tunnels Of Āh on Bandcamp or Facebook for info on Frag