ARM – Bloodbeat (Digital Album – M-Tronic)
Genre/Influences: Minimal-electronics, industrial, experimental.
Background/Info: Dan Serbanescu is a Romanian artist you maybe know from his main project Tanz Ohne Musik while he also set up the side-project Alone In The Hollow Garden. ARM is another project he’s dealing with. A debut album entitled “Enheartened” got released in 2014 on tape format while he last year joined hands together with the French M-Tronic label to unleash this new work on vinyl- and digital format.
Content: “Bloodbeat” reveals a kind of dirty, misty and spooky sound. It mixes elements of industrial music together with minimal electronics and even a touch of industrial-pop. The sounds are pretty vintage-like. Ghost-like vocal parts have been added on a few cuts and are perfectly matching with the global approach of this production.
+ + + : ARM clearly appears to be a sonic project with a very personal sound identity. The sound covers different music genres, but characterized by heavy sound treatments, bombastic treatments and other minimal arrangements. There’s a foggy sphere hanging over the tracks, which is one of the main noticeable characteristics of “Bloodbeat”. It also sounds retro-like and that’s one of the main aspects I like.
– – – : “Bloodbeat” however remains an experimental production, which is not easy to define. It might be seen as a visionary work, but is maybe not the most accessible work for music lovers.
Conclusion: ARM reminds me of the early years of electronic music when so-called pioneers were experimenting with their electronic equipment. In a time where most of the electronic productions sound pretty similar to each other it really is a relief discovering artists such as ARM who dare to experiment and innovate.
Best songs: “Hand In Hand”, “Of Pain And Bliss”, “Frozen Eyes”.
Rate: (7).
Band: www.facebook.com/dan.serbanescu.77
Label: www.m–tronic.com / www.facedbook.com/mtroniclabel
About ARM
ARM is one of several electronic projects by Romanian musician Dan Serbanescu, alongside Tanz Ohne Musik and Alone In The Hollow Garden. ARM’s debut album, “Enheartened”, was issued on tape in 2014. The project appeared on the M-Tronic label’s “Table Of Elements Vol. 4.0” compilation in 2017 before M-Tronic released “Bloodbeat” on vinyl and digital formats.
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