Regis - Divine Ritual mp3 download

Weetont

The companion release to "Blood Into Gold", and in my opinion, along with that one, the pinnacle of his recording career. Since then, Karl O'Connor has moved on and released heaps of impressive material, however, in my ears, his most cherished output will always remain the stuff recorded around the turn of the millenium.This EP marks a departure from previous efforts, as it eschews the former stark industrial sound patterns and opts for more ritualistic textures. Even upon the first listen, changes are palpable. Unlike the former material, "Divine Ritual" sees Regis including shorter compositions investigating bleak, arcane electronics and mystic atmospherics. Take Solution (Voice), for example. The Jim Jones sample is drop dead effective, the background sounds are as eerie as the spookiest science fiction soundtrack Bernard Herrmann never wrote, and the blurred voice going "...Keep your emotions down. Keep your emotions down... I'm the best friend you'll ever have" is one of techno music's greatest samples - ever! I still consider this to be one of the finest set openers. Trust me, start with this, and the crowd is sold forty seconds deep.Rites applies a jack-knifing riff, which in return skids its way across a lunging tribal rhythm. It hints at the more obsessive, hip-locking, shuffling rhythms he would present on "Penetration". On its own, Rites is an insanely stubborn, gritty and grainy assault of sonic intensity. It consists of little else but a pagan drum, an ecliptic, rugged bass line, and restrained synths incessantly propeling the music's ferocity. Devastating. This is in the same league as Guiltless, Wound Us or Baptism, and those are huge words. While his past Downwards work relied more on icy, sharp synth work, and stripped down beats, this one is locked away in a macabre world of covens and degree systems, rudimental ceremonies and whatever pagans get their kicks out of. For reference only, it is still as relentless as any track off, let's take, "Delivered Into The Hands Of Indifference".Execution Ground is where the departure from the past becomes really obvious. Whilst constructed around a frenetic, thundering groove, key difference between this track and past peak-time tunes is the use of a vocal sample, acting as the main hook. As in, he replaced the timeless synth wizardry of Speak To Me with subjugated, dreary vocals on Execution Ground. The result is breath taking. The way in which Regis maintained the intensity, despite changing the sound palette is worth of admiration. Whatever he does, he never loses integrity. Always gritty, always hard and always artistic. He shifted focues from the Mills inspired, Birmingham greyness of his debut album, "Gymnastics", and slowly pursued a more introspective, absorbing and obsessive path which ultimately led him to where he is today, producing music highly inspired by post punk and cold wave. Somewhere along the way, "Divine Ritual" came out.Karl O'Connor is one of the few out there who has been constantly releaseing quality music for over twenty years. Not just music, but an abbundance of top drawer products that have proudly stood the test of time. Taking into consideration his career, and the amount of territory it covered, everyone is bound to have a Regis era they prefer. Mine narrows down to the 1999-2001 period, when "Blood Into Gold" and "Divine Ritual" were recorded. As their respective titles propose, one is divine while the other is gold. Get at any cost. Essential for any techno fan, especially the UK techno afficionados and collectors.