Rhys Fulber – Brutal Nature (Album – FR Recordings)
Genre/Influences: Ambient-Electro, Ambient-Techno.
Format: Digital, CD, 2 Vinyls.
Background/Info: Rhys Fulber (Frontline Assembly, Delerium, Conjure One ao) strikes back with a new album under his own name. He’s now self-releasing his work while previous productions were released by the excellent Sonic Groove. The Canadian producer recorded this album while staying in Canada and getting inspired by nature.
Content: Is it because of the pandemic wherein nightlife and clubbing was restricted and even forbidden for a while or the strength and beauty of nature, but this work sounds more driven by Ambient music. But it’s not pure Ambient as Rhys injected hard, beating kicks, creating a sonic fusion between Techno and Ambient. The work evolved into colder sound treatments, which even have something Klinik-al like. A few tracks feature vocals –which sound more like an extra effect on top of the music. The last cut is something totally different and more into harsh Techno-EBM featuring enraged vocals by Sara Taylor (Youth Code).
+ + + : How many years this artist is now active composing music for different projects? Years indeed, and he rarely repeats himself. That’s exactly what he’s doing again on this album. He holds on to the Techno influences from “Your Dystopia, My Dystopia” while adding a more explicit Ambient touch on top. Rhys Fulber explores the possibilities of Techno music by bringing influences together. But above all he remains a great sound producer, creating outstanding sound treatments with powerful beats and blasting sounds. “Marginalized” and “Pressure” both are great exposures of this work, but I also have to mention the very aggressive “Rogue Minority” and the ultra-violent Techno-Body “Stare At The Sun” featuring the demonic Sara Taylor.
– – – : I can’t say that I prefer this albumover “Your Dystopia, My Dystopia” or “Ostalgia”, but the more explicit ambient approach wasn’t necessary to me.
Conclusion: The ongoing pandemic inspires great artists to release great things; “Brutal Nature” is a perfect title to summarize this visionary work by Rhys Fulber.
Best songs: “Marginalized”, “Pressure”, “Rogue Minority”, “Stare At The Sun”, “Chemical”.
Rate: 8½.
Artist & Label: www.facebook.com/rhys.fulber / www.facebook.com/rhysfulbermusic Read the news on ‘Brutal Nature’.
About Rhys Fulber
Rhys Fulber is a Canadian electronic musician and producer, born on 10 October 1970 and based in Los Angeles. He records and produces with Frontline Assembly and co-founded Delerium and Conjure One.
Under his own name he released “Realism” in 2017, the album this review names as “Your Dystopia, My Dystopia” in 2018 – Discogs lists it as “Your Dystopia, My Utopia” – “Ostalgia” and “Corruption Of Form” in 2019, and “Diaspora” and “Resolve” in 2020. His own FR Recordings issued the “Live Dystopia” cassette series from 2020 and released “Brutal Nature” in 2021.
“Collapsing Empires” followed in 2022, “Brutal Nature Redux” in 2023 and “Balance Of Fear” in 2024. Side-Line reported his most recent solo album in “Memory Impulse Autonomy”.
Support Side-Line
More people read Side-Line than ever, and there is still no paywall and no advertising. Readers pay for it instead - from $5 a month.
Why we ask
Advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations we have not put up a paywall, and we refuse to add annoying advertising, so we need to ask for your help. Side-Line’s independent journalism takes time, money and hard work to produce, and we do it to push the artists we like, who are equally fighting to survive.
Handled by PayPal.
I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
