Exposé Online banner

Exposé Online

Not just outside the box, but denying the existence of boxes.
Covering music from the fringes since 1993.

Reviews

Cadlag — Tensor
(Bandcamp Pharmafabrik PFCD044, 2025, CD / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2025-11-14

Tensor Cover art

Here at Exposé, we cover a lot of music that involves what could be called “drones” — long tones that change only very slowly — but almost all of that is in the context of ambient electronic music. Cadlag presents a very different kind of drone, which could be characterized as industrial noise. There are certainly long tones, but they are heavily distorted, very loud, and very intense. Most of the time. There are moments of relative calm to provide a bit of shelter from the storm, as the opening section of “Legionela,” which sounds like the isolated reverb track from an orchestra recorded in a vast cathedral. Other moments assault the senses with wailing, screaming feedback, screeches, and what I imagine it would sound like to stand directly below the engines of a Saturn V rocket taking off, if you could survive such a thing. The members of the group do use such conventional instruments as guitar and bass, but certainly do not use them in conventional ways, utilizing an array of effects and DIY electronics to mangle the sound in unexpected ways. I believe all of the music is improvised, and was recorded in a variety of different environments to capture the unique resonant properties of the spaces, but the credits are not specific. Music like this can have a kind of beauty when done right, and Cadlag often gets it right. Not for everyone, but a fascinating entry into the more extreme zones of experimental music.

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases

Related artist(s): PureH, Cadlag

More info
http://pharmafabrik.bandcamp.com/album/tensor

 

What's new

These are the most recent changes made to artists, releases, and articles.