A Splice of Life

FACTRIX - Scheintot (1981)

As Thee Olde Adage goes, "if influence translated into record sales," (see: Underground, Velvet) San Francisco-based industrial pioneers woulda raked in some 'o the ducats pocketed by the likes of Throbbing Gristle and Cabaret Voltaire. As it is, they barely had a pot to piss in during their brief existence that lasted from 1978-83. Comprised of Bond Bergland, Cole Palme, and Joseph T. Jacobs, all of whom had done time in thee equally underrated avant-garde electronic outfit, Patrick Miller's Minimal Man, they would leave us with "Scheintot" and "California Babylon," a collaborative effort with Monte Cazazza, before vanishing forever.

Mebbe Ted Kaczynski, in his deluded, luddite way had a point-- technology does suck. With their manipulated tape loops, "found sounds" (tea kettles, pennywhistles and the like are credited as instruments), primitive synth-thud and buzzing moogs, Factrix still sound more groundbreaking--- but more importantly-- dangerous, than what passes for industrial music these daze. For example, "Ballad of the Grim Rider" (whatta title!) has an ethereal, yet churning mix of analog electronics and scraping, treated guitar that every one of those pathetic, digitized Marilyn Moronites should be striving for (alas, that would require far too much creativity on their parts, so I'll shaddap). And the vocals! Hazy, buried in the mix yet perfectly intelligible, they bring to mind the utterances of a disillusioned ghost railing against the stupidity of mortals... they ooze outta the din unlike any LP I've yet heard.

This is music best listened to when regaining yer bearings after a Lost Weekend. There's bottles of booze you don't remember drinking littering the living room, the ashtrays are overflowing and smoldering; mebbe even a few people sleeping on the floor whose names escape you... yet paradoxically, "Scheintot," in its otherworldly way, provides a psychological anchor to Terra Firma.

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