Sister Body – Lucifer Efekt (Tesla Tapes, 2014)

Published March, 2014
by Easterndaze

Although the activities of the Prague based Klangundkrach collective seem to have been put on a halt as of late, the legacy of this post-noise label/collective, which was quite an extraordinary achievement in Central Europe (check out our podcast about this scene here), remains. From the fertile sonic soil of this relatively small group the increasingly successful Lightning Glove, now signed to Tesla Tapes, has emerged.

Sister / Body – Lucifer Efekt by Tesla Tapes

Sister Body is project of Head In Body and Miss Camilla, former is also active in the aforementioned Lightning Glove. The addition of Miss Camilla actually means a diversion from the sound of Lightning Glove, Sister Body now being a project strongly dependent on words, a powerful musical tool by itself. Lucifer Efekt is actually also a title of a book about a condition of human psyche when generally good people turn to evil deeds under various influences. This has been not confirmed by the band, albeit, when checking the lyrics, there are some clues or accidental hints which might give the impression of the Lucifer Efekt itself (harmony/in the worst way/soul or heart/we turn apart, in song called “Efekt”).

Sister / Body – Lucifer Efekt by Tesla Tapes

And what about the actual music? Miminalist drony synths with simple melodies are spell-binding, cold and cinematic in combination with the neurosis and despair oozing from the female voice. This dark, slow, wrecking and nervous minimal atmosphere owes a lot to Suicide (as proudly proclaimed by the band, they are inspired by the neurotic approach of these legendary New York pioneers ) and cold wave of the 80’s, yet it’s not just another copycat or revival band with a dark image. Personas, either real or fictional for the purposes of the project, of both band members are reflected in here deeply. The result is an extremely disturbing and negative listening experience, alluring in an anti-heroic way to all the like-minded outsiders sharing the same worldly feeling of alienation, despair and isolation. The track Crazy=Black” is the final statement questioning sanity with contradictory lyrics (They Say I’m Welcome/In This special House/They like the police in my head) reinforcing the role of the outsider even more in this increasingly normalized society consumed by its own structures.

Sister / Body – Lucifer Efekt by Tesla Tapes

Lucifer Efekt is not an easy listen. It requires the listener’s willingness to dive into the deeper and darker recesses of human emotions, but this can be a rewarding experience – hovering on the edges of sanity and coldness of electronic music with its raw and Spartan approach. The release makes a statement as a sonic opposition against the standards of contemporary society, giving a middle finger to the current state of affairs with its darker side of the moon, shooting a beacon to all the like minded-individuals sharing the same feelings and stances. Lucifer Efekt aims deeper to attack you as the psychological weapon against conventionality and dull joy of casual expectations of everyday life.

By b.arctor