Genre: Harsh Noise

This is an odd one: the full title of this 3” CDr appears to be ‘The word “veganism” denotes a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude – as far as is possible and practical – all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, animals and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practise of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals’, which is why I reduced it for convenience’s sake to just ‘The Word...’ above. Add to that there’s no indication as to which side is the playing side either – it’s a case of trial and error. What is certain, however, is that Chefkirk is one very prolific Richard H. Smith and this is a 20:48 long statement of his beliefs.

And you know what? Regardless of my own particular stance on the subject, this single piece of harsh electronics actually has something of the bloodstained slaughterhouse atmosphere about it, grinding walls of noise interspersed with blips, bleats and glitches, echoing the industrial process of turning living animals into what eventually appears on your plate. It’s quite affecting in the sense that just by utilising the sounds he has Smith has managed to capture the pain, confusion and bewilderment of unsuspecting livestock as they are herded towards the killing sheds and the completely inhuman (and some would say inhumane) industrial machine that the modern meat industry has become. In that respect I admire his ability to mould his materials in such a way, to be able to elicit such a response from what is ostensibly just noise. Whether you agree or disagree with the basic premise of veganism is irrelevant, this still has a certain power to move the listener to empathic appreciation of what is a very emotive issue for many.

It is also remarkable that this piece manages to conjure up those images without the use of any overt samples of animals or machines, just the manipulation of artificially created sounds. Running through the entire track is a vein of nastiness and brutality which is entirely appropriate, given that it’s about the exploitation of animals. I could almost smell the stench of the abattoir and see the once life-giving blood flow uselessly down the drain, all in the name of modernisation and ruthless efficiency, just so that people who probably don’t even know where the food came from can have their Sunday roast.

Let it be noted that I am neither for nor against veganism, seeing it as a personal choice exercised by the individual; however, having said that, the fact that I could conjure up the images and empathise so strongly with this is indicator enough of the quality of this CDr. That statement alone should be recommendation enough.