Smoke
Aagoo/Rev. Lab, 2019
8/10
An instrumental effort from New York artist and composer Nickolas Mohanna, Smoke is an organic and synthetic approach where art and sound are blurred together in highly unorthodox ways.
“Tower” gets things off to a percussively strong start, where beats and ambience are key, and “Circuit Rider” follows with a calmer setting of mood and subdued, mysterious manipulation.
Elsewhere, “Plague” incorporates keys and electronics into the unclassifiable formula, while “Fugitive” takes a primal, almost tribal approach to the futuristic exploration.
Near the end, “Visage” is a quick blur of almost robotic like repetition, and “HWY” exits the affair with marching band style drumming amid experimental noises.
An extremely unconventional display of unparalleled talent, Smoke comes as an art edition of 100 copies with a book and poster, and it’s pretty likely a project like this will sell out quick if it hasn’t already.
Travels well with: James Plotkin- The Joy Of Disease; Aidan Baker- Already Drowning