Released
1996
Label
Soleilmoon Recordings
Reviewed by
Michael C. Lund
Visit
Last Edit/Update
16 February, 1998
Agents With False
Memories
AGENTS WITH FALSE
MEMORIES
Track Listing
1. Agents With False Memories
One of the true living
legends of electronic-based music -- Richard H. Kirk -- has released music since
the mid-1970s. To begin with he was one third of the pioneereing
experimental-industrial-noise band Cabaret Voltaire, which later became a
duo, and finally ended up in the 90s being just one of Kirk's numerous outlets
for his solo-compositions. Always prolific, Kirk has released dozens of albums
under the names of Richard H. Kirk, Sandoz, Electronic
Eye and Alphaphone -- to name only the most prominent. One of
his latest creations is the 54 minute single-track CD Agents With False Memories
released on Soleilmoon Recordings.
The closest parallel to Agents
With False Memories in Kirk's own catalogue of music is the equally extended
"Project80" from the 1994 double-CD The Conversation, which was released
under the banner of Cabaret Voltaire. Like the former piece, "Agents
With False Memories" is a wall-to-wall carpet of ambient synthetica interweaved with
literally hundreds of media samples. The music constantly mutates, as it washes over the
listener like so many synthetic waves of sound. Acoustic sounding percussions propel the
piece forward, and the constant insertions of tv, radio and movie samples fade in and out
of the echoing melodics of the background.
Many of the samples used by Kirk
are so fragmented and obscured by interference that it is impossible to ascertain, where
these excerpts came from, or what they refer to. However, a sizable amount are long and
clear enough that the speakers and topics of discussion can be identified. Included in the
rich media tapestry there are a number of snippets from various news reporters, their
sensationalist voices constantly overpowering the subjects of the stories they are
reporting. There are comments on the CIA, the voice of a street smart 'gangsta' arms
dealer, samples from an action movie, a discussion of the benefits of 'e-mail', a
pro-American political pep speech and a psychologist enlightening his audience about the
'true' nature of sex. There are also self-contained little collages focussing on such
diverse topics as Third World religious rituals, the early days of the American gay
movement, brain surgery, and the cross-cutting techniques of D.W. Griffith
according to Martin Scorsese. Generally the individual samples stand alone, and
seem to have been incorporated by Kirk for the integrity and aural qualities of
the samples themselves, rather than for the relation of any specific message to the
listener. In a few instances, however, certain samples have been purposely juxtaposed,
assumedly as comments upon the world of media itself. An extensive excerpt from a speech
by Orson Welles on the importance of theatre, and his own early days in
Hollywood, has been contrasted with a brief snippet of an American talk show host cracking
an inane joke. In the same vein, a sample from a documentary on indiginous religious
rituals is interrupted by a brief sample from a 'love triangle' talk show.
As mentioned, the many
samples used by Kirk do not textually move towards any common conclusions or
statements in themselves. However, the entire piece can be seen as a kind of soundtrack
for the global village. Agents With False Memories taken in its entirety
illustrates the insane world of media, and the presence it holds in the lives of its
'addicts.' The constant media bombardment of the piece is equivalent to the information
overload society that the Western world has developed into in the latter half of the
twentieth century. Richard Kirk has created another compelling piece of music
that appeals to the ear and the mind.
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