Needless to say George Thompson has been on fire as of late. If you check in on a regular basis at your local record store you’ll have noticed his omnipresence both on the shelves and in a flurry of DJ bags altogether. A debut LP on Island Of The Gods that ranked as one of 2016’s highlights, shortly followed by a succession of blue-chip twelves for Jealous God, Omnidisc and Berceuse Heroique later, Black Merlin takes back his magic wand for a two-track brain melter on Rotterdam’s finest Pinkman.
‘Phase 1‘ attacks your senses and nerves without further notice, just like that savage motorik beat you hear roaring from the basement as you just set foot in some shady night club. Neons flash by and shadows collide in vagueness, merging together in a black sea that gives off nothing but fragrant wafts of sweat, sex and booze. Thompson has a knack for loud, gut-churning primitive drums and it shows, convincingly framing his cold and purring analogue brute force into hallucinated visions of black mess rituals and claustrophobic atmospheres.
Flip sides and ‘Phase 2‘ welcomes you for a heavily opiated mind-trip, rife with detuned synth gargles, droney twirls and unflinching industrial percs cascading on automatic mode. Dodgy scenes flicker and vanish in volutes as the light goes off and a gungy artificial fog progressively fills the room. Be ready for a descent into a grimy no-go zone where obscurity reigns supreme. Fists clenched and jaws stiff, advance without thinking, each step and bar will draw you closer to this blazing furnace irremediably and you’ll keep asking for more.
Phase One is out now via Pinkman, order a vinyl copy from Bandcamp.
TRACKLIST
A1. Phase 1
B1. Phase 2
Discover more about Black Merlin and Pinkman on Inverted Audio.