MIKE PATTON & ICTUS ENSEMBLE

Patton doesn’t do normal. Patton doesn’t do predictable. Patton doesn’t do conventional. What Patton does do however is the downright bizarre. Mr Bungle were clearly mad; Faith No More had their fair share of eccentricities; Fantomas was batshit insane; and his numerous collaborations and solo works continue to be about as far off the commercial path as you can get. And so now Patton along with Belgium’s Ictus Ensemble – another troupe of “touched” musicians – treats us to a remake of a 1965 piece by Italian experimental composer Luciano Berio. Written to mark the 700th birthday of the poet Dante, it’s based on the poem ‘Laborintus’ by an Italian writer, Edoardo Sanguineti. Never heard of ‘em? Doesn’t matter. If this album is anything to go by, they’re all as mad as Patton. Good. There’s nothing worse than a musician that sticks to the tried and tested, is there? If you need a reference point, think Fantomas’ ‘Delirium Cordia’ meets György Ligeti’s ‘Requiem’ or ‘Lux Aeterna’ and Zorn’s ‘IAO: Music In Sacred Light’ with a few electronic tweeks and squeaks thrown in. Erratic, eclectic, electric, this isn’t easy listening; in fact it’s quite baffling at times but never anything less than intriguing. As demented as it is, there’s something utterly compelling about this work. The sound of angelically discordant female choirs combined with Italian poetry against a cacophonous, erratic, and atonal background may well feel impenetrable, but therein lies its appeal.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Ipecac

Album

LABORINTUS II

Review by Jason Guest

RUNNING TIME:

32:00

RELEASE DATE:

2nd July 2012

TRACK LISTING

1) Part 1
2) Part 2
3) Part 3

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

USA

"The sound of angelically discordant female choirs combined with Italian poetry against a cacophonous, erratic, and atonal background may well feel impenetrable, but therein lies its appeal."