Silly me for not appreciating the fact that a “compound eye” is actually the technical term for those bulbous protrusions commonly found on flies and other insects. First Far-Out Fangtooth deliberately (read: unintentionally) trick me into becoming aware of deep-sea Devil descendants, and now, Tres Warren (of Psychic Ills) and Drew McDowall (formerly of Coil) have me seeing, to personal fright, compound eyes in nearly every spherical object. Fucking Epcot isn’t a fabulous display of technology and the gateway to a Disney form of cultural exploration; it’s a giant FLY half stuck in the Earth. What was Walt thinking, building an amusement ride in a goddamn giant insect?? This will be the end of us!
Compound Eye, the somewhat unpredictable collaboration between McDowall and Warren, have a new album out, and it’s called Journey from Anywhere, released on Editions Mego. The aforementioned associations shouldn’t necessarily be a draw, because really, at least judging by the track below, the project sounds harsher than “The Sea Priestess,” and is a far cry from the structured psychedelia of Ills. Electronic improvisation is the unstated goal here, and Warren refers to it as an ongoing “recording project,” buoyed by a lack of formula and an impulse to add things as the creative mind warrants. “Journey” is aptly used, in other words.
This mutual interview gives some good insight into the two figures, so I’d suggest giving it a read, if you’re interested. And McDowall’s into cicadas. Naturally.
Journey from Anywhere tracklisting:
01. Foehn
02. Archaic Atmosphere
03. The Hydraulic Regime Vibrates from Within
04. Journey into Anywhere
05. Open Interval 1
06. Cosmic Exhaust: The Selector (Cut-up composition)
07. Open Interval 2
08. The Outer Sphere
• Editions Mego: http://editionsmego.com
[Photo: Benedict Brink]