CONTROL

Barcode 673790032706 Tracklist A1. Control A2. Secondo B1. Blindfold B2. Sequencer It™s fitting that Andrew Weatherall himself discovered George Thompson, aka Black Merlin, in 2012, the year of our never-realized apocalypse. A vinyl release on Weatherall™s Bird Scarer label followed, then World Unkown, Crimes of the Future, LN-CC, SORN, New Jersey, Common Thread„ Shift focus to Balinese label šIsland of the Gods,› where Black Merlin™s debut album šHYPNOTIC TRADISI› sold out in 48 hours. Bleeding edge fashion label ACNE tapped him for their SS17 catwalk, and Black Merlin continues to push his retro-aggressive style forward to now- his new EP šControl› for Boysnoize Records. Power, discipline, CONTROL- the word itself is inseparable from the aesthetic mythos of industrial music, channeled so adeptly by Black Merlin across the 4 track release. The first two cuts, šControl› and šSecondo,› capture the neurotic, mechanical energy of a fantasy after-hours in a weapons factory- the kind of sci-fi meets political unrest wet dream that was Amiga-tracked through every undercut, black booted teenager™s imagination in the late 80™s. Production evoking the most dancefloor forward moments of Front 242, a sound both retro and contemporary but firmly planted in dark and aggressive EBM„ Sound familiar for a BNR release these days? We hope so. Black Merlin™s CONTROL EP is more than a record for DJ™s, as the last two tracks discard the club™s restraints for excursions into sound and narrative. šBlindfold› is a nightmarish soundtrack to automated torture, complete with shouts and screams. It™s a difficult listen but not easily shaken, and like a loose tooth you™ll crave returning to it even though it hurts. šSequencer› closes the EP with slow, moody, analogue arpeggios, rising, falling, filtering, twisting around, through, over, and under each other. It™s a caustic relief, but still a relief from an otherwise relentless EP in a relentless continuation of growth from the artist. Control- Black Merlin™s here.