Taking two years or so to complete, this release from Jérôme Nougaillon's Propergol project is a twelve tracker that I really wouldn't advise taking with you next time you travel by plane, unless of course you enjoy filling your mind with images of impending disaster whilst sitting in a pressurised tube at 30,000 feet.
The collection of samples, from flight data recorders, air traffic control broadcasts, air to ground communications and various other sources is impressive to say the least, a lot of time and effort gone into locating these and not a minute of it has been wasted.
This album leans more toward the dark ambient side of things than previous Propergol releases, but dont let the term 'ambient' mislead you, focus more on the 'dark' aspect, this is not music to chill out with. The deep, rolling basses coupled with the layered atmospherics and aforementioned samples gradually increase in intensity and volume to dramatic, often cataclysmic effect.
The title track is a fine example of this, starting with a throbbing bass which grows louder and more urgent as the track progresses. The calm, efficient voices of flight crew nursing an injured aircraft home become more excitable and panicked. Suddenly the Ground Proximity Warning System klaxon starts sounding and our feeling of control starts to slip, the flight crews communictions become garbled and a real feeling of dread takes over, you can almost smell the fear. Wonderful, but almost too exhausting to listen to. The end, when it inevitably come is almost a blessed relief. And this is one of the gentler tracks.
A truly stunning piece of work, combining elements of ryhtmic noise, harsh electronics and some sublime bass programming, there is something here for anyone with even a passing interest in the darker side of electronica. Highly recommended.
01. Air Route Traffic Control Center [10:04]
02. Malfunction Check List [5:38]
03. Cockpit Voice Recorder [6:28]
04. Instrument Landing System [3:36]
05. Ground Proximity Warning System [6:08]
06. Electronic Flight Information System [5:36]
07. Portable Breathing Equipment [6:44]
08. Flight Data Recorder [7:45]
09. Cabin Altitude Aural Warning [5:38]
10. Alert And Collision Aviodance System [3:19]
11. Engine Indication And Crew Alerting System [5:32]
12. Auxiliaire Power Unit [5:22]
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