RIPIT A Church or A Factory

Theonly previous time the name Ripit popped in these pages was in a review (not by me) of a four-way split cassette (Vital Weekly 1101). For me, this LP is an introduction to the music of Nicolas Esterle. He was known for his "radical noisy breakbeat" in the past, but on this album, he leaps into the world of power electronics. The LP marks his return after three years of doing other work with The Angstromers (his duo with Frederic Alstadt) and the Haitian voodoo ensemble Chouk Bwa. There are guests on this album, such as Paul Tergeist, Andrea DV, Robert Imhuman, Divtech, Tzii and Andre Coelho. The music was already recorded from 2015-2019, and the album's title refers to the Belgium countryside where a church or a factory always surrounds you. Ripit's machines are Serge Modular, Knifonium and various Eurorack modules. The music is noisy and rhythmic, with Ripit also using vocals, and he does that in good old-fashioned power electronics fashion. Shouting and screaming, and God knows
what it is about. 'Behind The Glass, of 'The Productivity Of Pain', to use the titles. Life's not easy. As said, rhythm plays a big role, and Ripit uses all sorts of these. It's not just hammering away, but there are some nice variations here. That's the first side of the record. Old-fashioned, conservative noise music; what's not to like there? On the other side, there is 'In Haus Of Angst', which I am not sure is a correct use of the German language. In this side-long piece, Ripit takes us into the factory and shows us around sawing machines, buzzing and sawing away. With the sound close to feedback, this is not your typical noise; surprisingly, I'd say. It's more drones meeting noise but toned in such a way that it is more an ambient piece of music. But of the more industrialized sort, this music can't be ignored. You have to play it loud as if you were standing inside the factory and there's no escape. It's also a powerful piece, reminding me a bit of MB, but louder and intenser (and
less leaning on the use of delay). Also, nothing one has not heard before, but again, who cares? An ear-cleansing exercise on a Sunday afternoon. Nothing lazy there.