Mark Fell’s music tends to function better on a conceptual level than an actual listening level. His micro-explorations of tone and frequency are interesting experimentally, and are remarkable as exercises in obsession.
‘Sentielle Objectif Actualité’ introduces another angle to Fell’s conceptually-orientated output by introducing the remix to his range. The idea of remixing Mark Fell’s recordings is akin to, I dunno, producing a rewritten version of ‘Fight Club’ or a reworked Warhol painting, or remaking ‘Bladerunner’: perverse and pointless in equal measure.
The original versions of the 7 tracks on ‘Sentielle Objectif Actualité’ (clinically titled ‘SOA 1-7’) originally appeared earlier in the year on 3 12” singles, entitled ‘10’, ‘5’ and ‘3.3’, all of which are hard to come by and none of which I’ve heard. The obvious route to have gone would have been a CD compilation reissue, but then, Mark Fell isn’t about the obvious or commercial. Moreover, given that the ‘original’ recordings draw heavily on samples from various other releases, twisted and squeezed beyond recognition, and the first of these three releases, ‘10’ was itself a reworking of one of Fell’s previous projects, the question of what actually constitutes an ‘original’ work and a remix becomes as important as the actual recordings on the disc.
Sharp, trebly electronic needles pulse through the beat-led opening track – not that the beats are remotely danceable. Shifting, warping, bounching hither and thither across a sparse, glacial soundscape, they bend in time and ricochet through a series of subtle but definite mutations. It’s this kind of brain-pulping disorientation that Fell specialises in, and while SOA-2 may bear some of the trappings of (extremely) minimal house, it’s never going to be a club smash because it’s just too arrhythmic, with counter-beats crackling and popping like firecrackers bursting every which way.
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Any attempt to get down to the erratic tempo of ‘SOA-3’ and ‘SOA-5’ would probably result in a seizure. And this is what makes Mark Fell such an intriguing artistic proposition, and makes ‘Sentielle Objectif Actualité’ such a brilliant contradiction: on the surface, this is dance music, but beneath the beats lies a cerebral and wildly imaginative exploration of the mechanics of the genre. Take, by way of evidence, the sleeve notes:
‘Additional DJ notes for playback synchronisation: Track 1 has a tempo of 137 beats per minute with a rhythmic loop of 30 units each lasting 109.49 milliseconds. Track 2, 126 bpm with 31 units each lasting 119.05ms. Track 3, 113 bpm with 17 units each lasting 88.5ms. Track 4, 128 bpm with 60 units each lasting 117.19ms, with inserted pauses of between 4 and 80 units. Track 5, 128 bpm with 16 units each lasting 117.19ms. Track 6, 128 bpm with 64 units each lasting 117.19ms. Track 7, 125 bpm with 31 units each lasting 120ms.’ Yes, this is seriously technical stuff.
It’s simply too much of a headfuck to have mass appeal. Not that this in any way invalidates Fell’s work – quite the opposite, in fact. With so much musical ground already covered, it’s credit to the artist that he’s found new terrain to explore, and ‘Sentielle Objectif Actualite’ shows he’s nowhere near done pushing the boundaries yet.
Mark Fell Online
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