Karakul

"00" CD

DarkRealm Multimedia

Genres: experimental

DarkRealm
PO Box 8521
Atlanta, GA
31106 USA

May 5 - 11 2003

"Karakul is an ongoing project involving the manipulation of preexisting analog tape recordings of individuals in and surrounding the life span of Karakul (your favorite band that never existed) as manipulated by Nothing Inside's Mike Coleman."

Right-o.  So what I got out of it is that Karakul as a three-piece band recorded a number of songs, and then Karakul as one guy, Mike Coleman, manipulated them on his computer and then released the deconstructed audio results.

With that said, this is an interesting release.  Karakul the trio certainly has a lot to offer, putting together melodic little pop pieces that sometimes are reminiscent of The Microphones' recent stuff (evident on "Blank Stare"), except with a darker, more electronic feel.  Karakul the one guy, meanwhile, is more obviously heard at some parts of 00 than at others.  For example, "Blank Stare," which I just mentioned, sounds as if it wasn't manipulated at all; meanwhile, it's hard to imagine what "All Here Together" would have sounded like before Coleman deconstructed it to pieces on his computer.

All in all, this is a dark, interesting album that ranges from ambient soundscape to melodic sing-song.  It's nothing earth-shattering, but it's worth lending an ear to if you're up for something different.

79%

Matt Shimmer

[Vitals: 15 songs, distributed by the label, released 2001]