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Phonem | Ilisu

Do politics belong in music ?
CD, Morr Music/Lowlands

Tekst: Omar Muñoz-Cremers

Publicatiedatum: 21 januari 2002

Politics and music do they really mix? I sometimes joke about modern subjects having been questioned by the ancient Greeks, but in this case, it is true, Plato did indeed in The Republic deal with the uneasy relation between music and politics (his solution: no music in the ideal state save some good marching sounds). Personally, I have never cared for obvious, up-front politics. I always am wary of sloganeering, of music becoming a tool for the message. Even in, say Public Enemy, it used to be the politics of sound (the disorientating noise, otherness or alien aggressiveness) that would be more important than Chuck D's rhetoric. This difficult relation has only further deteriorated with the onslaught of dance music, which has eschewed politics in all cases except maybe Underground Resistance and Digital Hardcore. Which finally brings me too Phonem's new album 'Ilisu' which is presented as an explicit political album. 'Ilisu' is named after a controversial Turkish dam building project. In short: under the guise of modernization the Turkish government is planning to built a dam that will flood a large area somewhat conveniently peopled by native Kurds who will have to be evacuated. The environmental effects are also still difficult to oversee (you can read more by following the link below.)

Elliot Perkins has made a clever choice by making a political album yet keeping the actual message and music separate. The inlay of the cover consists of an essay about the Ilisu project. It is a nasty tale about dark politics, environmental disaster, unethical business by international corporations and to Perkins' credit I would not have been informed about this scandal without his cd. Which means that one half of the album is already a total triumph. The music on the other hand is without any inherent political meaning; it basically consists of a standard post-Autechre sound with a mix of electro and jungle rhythms. The long opener 'Ilisu' is a rather nice piece of electronica with beautiful tingling melodies that cascade through the rhythms. After that, the music has a difficult time holding your attention since there is little contrast between tracks. A fascinating release but it still does not satisfyingly answer the question if politics really add something to music.

http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/phonem/ilisu/1217/
Meer Phonem op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/phonem