"Some
of the material on this web-site induce the abnormal mental condition
known as 'thought.' If you experience this distressful reaction, the
authorities recommend that you shut down your computer immediately,
immerse yourself in television and top 40 radio and consume large
quantities of Prozac. If none of these are available, hit yourself in the
head until unconscious."
Such is the greeting at www.teknet.net.au/~eye, home of Eye. Australia's electronica-industrial version of stateside's Rage Against the Machine, Eye are highly political and readily label their CD, Politics Can Be Fun Volume 1, as propaganda-laden-industrial-acid-grind. A "Blatant Propaganda" production, eye's first factory-pressed CD is brash and ballsy and straight-away strikes back at the political machine Down Under. Furious beats, political-awareness speech break-downs and techno riffs keep Politics Can Be Fun Volume 1 moving swiftly and strongly ahead.
Eye breaks out against commercialism also - offering the CD for no more than $10 Australian or $7 American. They even offer a swap for "spare organs." Backed by Australia's conspiracy and anti-government zine, Blatant Propaganda, Eye is no newcomer to the grass roots and activism scene.
Politics Can Be Fun Volume 1 opens with political speech samples from various Australian government officials, Mandate is a swift techno-laden track with powerful growl-tinged vocals. Attacking the mandate form of government, Eye clearly bars no words from their songs, clearly an attack without any form of stealth. Again on track 5, Respect the Mandate, they come after the subject again - a reminder of just how pissed off they are, and others should be. And on track 12, No Mandate arrives. Starting this time with an acapella opening, this time the song is more instrumental. It is loaded with samples, political statements again. By the end of the album, you're pretty much aware of the mandate form of government control.
There
are other subjects hit here as well…such as the well known call to
action, "Action equals life, silence equals death." Action =
Life has a submerged sound, a collection of rhythmic pulses with
agonized lyrics that chants the call. There are a lot of political
breakdowns as well, snippets of speeches and explanations of Down Under
political maneuvering. One of the better ones that left me with a feeling
of dread was on track 8, In situ leach mining of Uranium by General
Atomics at Beverley South Australia. Over a scraping and, I dare say
ugly-sounding soundscape, a professor will tell you about the actions of
General Atomics and the dangers of this style of Uranium mining via
sulfuric acid.
The entire CD is filled with political meandering and rebellious propaganda, all packaged inside the techno rhythms and soundscapes of a futuristic style. Like "Blade Runner" prior to World War Terminus, it is quite possible that what we're listening to here is the precursor to such terminus. While the synth melodies could have used a bit of changing as the CD rolled on, as they're always metal-edged and grinding, the output is still enjoyable to listen to even for non-political activists.
Contact Information:
Post: Blatant Propaganda, P.O. Box 1327, Woden 2606,
Australia
E-Mail: eye@canberra.teknet.net.au
Web: http://www.teknet.net.au/~eye/
Web: http://www.mp3.com/eye
