1. Wrecks
2. What's the Point of Going to Crete?
3. Small Frozen North
4. Rosemary's Baby
5. Drown
6. Frozen North I
7. Frozen North IV
Among the myriad of berlin-school projects (many of which are solo), the tradition of jam-oriented bands (most notably exemplified by Tangerine Dream), still persists. The trio behind Radio Massacre International (Duncan Goddard, Gary Houghton, Deve Dinsdale) are particularly remarkable in their constant inventiveness, that perpetually captivates in a way that I think can only come out of jamming among deeply engaged, seasoned musicians.
Considering the fact that they have material that seems to go as far back as 1980 (under their DAS alias) I suppose it comes as no surprise that Radio Massacre International's debut "Frozen North" is already quite the masterpiece. You can hear a lush, masterful proficiency in their use of ambience, synth pads, guitar with pedal effects, and of course the sequential arps. They often don't start immediately with the berlin-school arps we all know and love right away, but in doing so the impression is so much more epic. The group opens our eyes to the possibilities of what can be done when all the right elements of a unique jam band come into play.
When the guitar comes in over the arps it creates a most compelling tour de force that seems to soar like a bird across a colorful ambient canvas. Perhaps most people are more familiar with the guitar's use in rock music but its use in berlin-school isn't unheard of (Ashra, Michael Rother), although in this case its accented in and out and not as much in the spotlight as the other leading melodies.
I can attest from my own experience that it is very hard to keep a group improvisation continually interesting, yet RMI's work excels in a way that pre-meditated composition can't. The experience of the musicians and their diverse skillsets with an intimately small collective to play off from seems to play into that advantage. It could also be because the albums are usually curated from much longer improv sessions, some full versions now being available Bandcamp (highly recommend 'Republic' and 'Borrowed Atoms').
Theres a range of different songs on here. The album starts off with some excellent straightforward bangers like 'Wrecks' and 'Whats the Point of Going to Crete', then diverges further into its icy theme with 'Small Frozen North' which has such beautiful shimmery pads. In the next track 'Rosemarys Baby' we seem to descend further into a dark magical realm through an ice cave that beckons us to go further. The pads give us an ominous quality before continuing on into the epic last 3 tracks of the record, which take up most of the album's running time.
It is as if we've emerged out the other end of the cave and we're outside in the frigid arctic expanse as we fly overhead. By "Frozen North I" the arps have picked up pace and its like we've caught an air current. The diverse range of impressions the album conveys is impressive. They seem able to give the impression of chaotic blizards, pristine clearings of sparkly powdered snow, and cold slippery glaciers or stalactites of glistening ice. In the later part of this album, elements of all things arctic are explored.
With the epic 40 minute closing track we enter into a realm that is perhaps more transcendental, abstract, not of this world and yet forged out of this vast icy landscape as if here the snow and ice finally reveal their hidden secrets to us. Here we have more abstract textural sounds, suggestive of bits of shiny particles of mist, followed by a deep glacial yawn that hints of an ancient geological majesty. About 15 minutes theres a building of momentum and we gradually seem to be brought back into the material plane, but with darker overtones than before. The deep tonality of the arp sequence sets a backdrop of rolling clouds, or perhapse a dive under the torrential arctic oceans of ever deepening indigo darkness. The dark gives way to a more lush, and serene direction around 28 minutes in, with wisps of steam-like percussion amon myriad of interesting textures and cosmic sound effects.
Radio Massacre International demonstrates an astonishing range of ability in terms of tone, melody, improvisation with the cohesion of a well crafted composition, tasteful use of effects, and proficiency in instrumentation both acoustic or electronic. Their past work throughout the 80s (DAS) seems to have paid off and they debut with one of my favorite berlin-scool records of all. Frozen North is epic in both its duration (clocking in at well over two hours) and content. The lengthier compositions don't seem to drag, managin to stay captivating throughout. For anyone new to berlin-school or all things kosmiche, I would highly recommend this. A prime example of the 90s at its peak, courtesy of record label Centaur Discs. 9/10
https://radiomassacreinternational.bandcamp.com/track/small-frozen-north
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