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Zvoyn - Onomatopeous Love Letters, Book I: Elisa Hot

Saturday, 25 April 2009

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8.5

out of 10

Reviewed by:
Chris Alfano
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Saturday, 25 April 2009
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Music Information

Track Listing:
01. Misae
02. Elisa
03. Venus
04. Amina (prologue)
05. Diane
06. Sofia
07. Keyla

Artist: Zvoyn
Title: Onomatopeous Love Letters, Book I: Elisa
Genre: Grindcore • Avant-Garde Metal • Experimental
Release Date: 15 February 2009
Record Label: self-released
Format: EP
Country: France
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Zvoyn - Onomatopeous Love Letters, Book I: Elisa

Book I: Elisa is the first part of a trilogy, entitled Zealous Decadence. Book III:Ioana will (ironically) be the second installment. Its release date is May 24th, 2009. Book II: Malika will be the final component of the series. Its release date is not yet available.

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Editor review

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful


Overall rating (weighted)		8.5
Musicianship		7.0
Composition		8.0
Experimentation		10.0
Production		9.0
Value		9.0

At some point in time, we have all engaged in the old (not to mention pointless) debate over technical acuity versus emotional content. There will always be people who rationalize their failure to grasp a complex piece of music by claiming that it lacks \"depth\" or \"feeling\". In fact, terms such as \"technical wank-fest\" and \"musical masturbation\" were essentially coined by this narrow-minded group of aesthetic fundamentalists. Their argument has been applied to everyone from Rush to Behold...The Arctopus, which should do much to indicate its sheer absurdity. Nonetheless, they forge onward and continue to breed in alarming numbers.

As of late, the fundamentalists seem to have moved their herd to a new patch of grass. They can now be found in record stores and online forums, espousing their current (not to mention confounding) definition of \"cohesiveness\". In essence, they feel that music should exhibit some restrictive concept of \"flow\" and \"structure\". They conceptualize it as something to be taken in song-sized compartments, and any changes in theme or mood have to be executed gradually. Overall, music \"should\" be a linear entity which proceeds logically from point A to point B.

It is this climate of critical arrogance that makes \'Onomatopeous Love Letters\' such a delightful slab of musical butchery. It\'s creator is an irreverent Moroccan named OYC, whose stated intention is to piss in the ear of convention. Under the curious moniker of \"Zvoyn\", he launches an explosive volley of seven tracks that will vaporize fundamentalists on contact. Using an odd and eclectic variety of instrumentation (including everything from MIDI clarinets to traditional Middle Eastern lutes), OYC delivers a jolt to the mainstream that pushes listeners far beyond preconceived boundaries.

As specifics go, heavily distorted bass tones are a prominent feature of Zvoyn\'s m.o.. They wax and wane with a certain irregularity that never allows to listener to just sit back and absorb the proceedings. The various MIDI sequences interlock to some extent, but never to the point of familiarity or balance. Certain aspects of OYC\'s approach suggest vague parallels to the cyber-grind deconstructionism of Noism or Dataclast, but this is more in spirit than execution. Traditional notions of flow and structure are completely trashed in favor of sharp turns, jammed gears, and near-fatal mood swings. Overall, the EP gives the distinct impression of relinquishing control to a superior force. By making the decision to drop this little 3\" disc in your CD player (it won\'t play on PCs due to the inclusion of a short film), you are giving up any control over the listening experience or its outcome. Hence, there are general similarities to the likes of Fantomas, People (the Israeli disco-grind band from the 90s) or John Zorn\'s Naked City project, but such comparisons are incomplete and not entirely accurate.

The liner notes state that Zvoyn exists for the purpose of breaking rules, and the project undoubtedly succeeds on that level. Each track was recorded in one take, which produces an odd paradox between computer generated precision and the fallibility of human error. Given that \'Onomatopeous...\' is the first part of a trilogy, there are certain conceptual overtones here that are both fascinating and befuddling. My degree in philosophy helped to unravel some of the headier subject matter, which includes topics such as self-reference and existential theory. However, these points serve to strengthen Zvoyn\'s overall presentation rather than devolving into meaningless pretension.

I look forward to hearing the remaining \"books\" in this series, as its first installment provides an engaging look into a largely uncharted musical abyss. There isn\'t a dull moment to be found here, so check it out and start gearing up for the next leg of Zvoyn\'s mind-bending journey of artistic extremes.

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