REVIEWS

Manufactura
Presence: Into the Here and Now

Crunch Pod

Posted: Wednesday, March 29, 2006
By: Rik MacLean
Editor

Manufactura is a project that is constantly reinterpreting and reinventing itself. Never content to remain in one stylistic area, Karloz. M of Manufactura has made a point of doing something new and different with every release. So, of course, it should come as no surprise that on the latest album, Presence: Into the Here and Now, Manufactura has re-evaluated and recreated itself in a formidable new way, delivering an emotional and individual vision complemented by an aggressive industrial/EBM backdrop.

Without doubt, Manufactura’s previous albums have been ominous and brooding works, singular and dramatic trips into the heart of darkness. Presence expands on those earlier trips, taking the listener to new and darker terrain, ranging from the more aggressive, more confrontational tracks, like “I’m the Worst Kind” and “Sex and Suicide (Leaving Scars),” to the more introspective and emotional “I Float Alone” (a brilliant reinvention of a song written by David Lynch). It’s a challenging mixture of styles and forms that in the hands of a lesser talent might not work as effectively. Karloz. M proves here that he has considerable talent and pulls it off masterfully, bringing everything together in a seamless and successful way. Samples, beats, noise, and feedback are all synched together perfectly with an awareness of their individual places in the sound field. Rhythms shift, evolve, and mutate in the space of a second. Song lyrics are concise and direct, brilliantly capturing the shape and menace of the monsters both internal and external that Karloz. M is fighting. The track “Cocaine Dreams Through Crystal Eyes” in particular stands out as an excellent example of the disc’s lyrical strength, with it’s dark imagery weaving through a steady drum and synth pattern. All of these factors add up to create a very oppressive environment, a dense wall of sound that envelops the listener, pulling them deeper and deeper under its influence. And, of course, we like that.

One of the most frequent criticisms about the state of music in almost any genre these days is that it’s difficult to find emotional connection between the artist and the listener, that the artistic element of music is in danger of becoming stagnant as a result of bands avoiding any investment of self in favor of following tried and true “safe” approaches. Manufactura is surely a band that doesn’t take the safe approach, and the work on Presence is a refreshing and challenging alternative to the mundane state of music today. Karloz. M’s work as Manufactura is all about breaking down barriers and doing things on his terms in a valid and personal way. With Presence: Into the Here and Now, he shows that he’s a man who’s willing to see his vision through to the end.