BLACK MERLIN - Control

It’s fitting that Andrew Weatherall himself discovered George Thompson, aka Black Merlin, in 2012, the year of our never-realized apocalypse. A vinyl release on Weatherall’s Bird Scarer label followed, then World Unkown, Crimes of the Future, LN-CC, SORN, New Jersey, Common Thread… Shift focus to Balinese label “Island of the Gods,” where Black Merlin’s debut album “HYPNOTIC TRADISI” sold out in 48 hours. Bleeding edge fashion label ACNE tapped him for their SS17 catwalk, and Black Merlin continues to push his retro-aggressive style forward to now- his new EP “Control” for Boysnoize Records. Power, discipline, CONTROL- the word itself is inseparable from the aesthetic mythos of industrial music, channeled so adeptly by Black Merlin across the 4 track release. The first two cuts, “Control” and “Secondo,” capture the neurotic, mechanical energy of a fantasy after-hours in a weapons factory- the kind of sci-fi meets political unrest wet dream that was Amiga-tracked through every undercut, black booted teenager’s imagination in the late 80’s. Production evoking the most dancefloor forward moments of Front 242, a sound both retro and contemporary but firmly planted in dark and aggressive EBM… Sound familiar for a BNR release these days? We hope so. Black Merlin’s CONTROL EP is more than a record for DJ’s, as the last two tracks discard the club’s restraints for excursions into sound and narrative. “Blindfold” is a nightmarish soundtrack to automated torture, complete with shouts and screams. It’s a difficult listen but not easily shaken, and like a loose tooth you’ll crave returning to it even though it hurts. “Sequencer” closes the EP with slow, moody, analogue arpeggios, rising, falling, filtering, twisting around, through, over, and under each other. It’s a caustic relief, but still a relief from an otherwise relentless EP in a relentless continuation of growth from the artist. Control- Black Merlin’s here. Record Label: Boysnoize Style: Techno