One of the surest signs that you're in for some shit is when a DVD opens with a disclaimer for epileptics. The warnings here are of dizziness, altered vision, eye or muscle twitches, loss of awareness, disorientation, and involuntary movement. Sounds damn good to me. Here we've got a DVD-R of two video pieces by Cristopher Cichocki, soundtracked by Los Angeles noise artists Kevin Shields (the stage name of Gang Wizard member Eva Aguila) and Rale, respectively. Timewise, the whole thing clocks in at a measly 4:27, but it opens up a type of hallucinogenic wormhole that transports you to the bold future of eight hours later, where you realize you've been watching it on repeat over and over, and where you've managed to lose the socks from your feet while keeping your shoes on.
The first track, "Motorhands," courtesy of Shields, is a fairly standard blast of harsh noise euphoria, rife with high-pitched whines, deep metal-on-metal abrasion, and general electronic disgust. It's not particularly interesting, but it is a fine little dose of noise espresso. The video accompanying the track is a documentation of two or three live performances by Shields, which transforms for a short time into a bombardment of hyper close-ups of pavement, rocks, leaves, and what looks like a page out of one of those I Spy books. The framerate that Cichocki is working with here is absolutely absurd, rendering all movement instantaneous. The electronic devices on the table seem to slide around on their own, while a possessed Shields batters them with her head and fists. There are moments when the camera makes utterly bizarre kamikaze dives into the action that sent me physically reeling with vertigo.
The Rale piece, "Tattered Syntax," is a much more dense, collapsing piece that expands into areas of oscillating brain death and then contracts into quieter but somehow more oppressive spliced sonic genes and utterly violated synths. Cichocki captures the tune perfectly with spinning steel and manhole covers, sprinkled with walls of tiny pinhole lights flickering faster than you could ever want, moving into hyper-spinning wheels and views upward through a glass ceiling into tree branches. If you've ever seen those videos that purport to simulate the effects of a given drug (LSD is a popular example), then you've got a pretty solid idea of what this feels like, although this video must correspond to some undiscovered drug.
This DVD isn't going change the landscape of noise or experimental film (though the prize really is Cichocki's video), but if you're in the market for something to seriously fry you late at night, it's going to be difficult to find anything better than this. I'd also like to specially acknowledge the packaging here, which really does add to the total experience. The DVD comes attached to a sheet of aluminum and is wrapped in printed vellum. Truly bitter and cold, in the best possible way.
1. Motorhands
2. Tattered Syntax
More about: Cristopher Cichocki / Kevin Shields / Rale
