Hollywood often tells tales of “mutant” forms as evil, indestructible forces hellbent on destroying humankind (indestructible to everyone but a handful of our most bankable hunx). But anyone who has heard Joni Void’s debut disc Selfless or his many remixes under the Void and Johnny Ripper aliases knows that the man, born Jean Cousin, is a mutant breed of the best kind: a ramshackle, (r)evolutionary producer with a unique knack for bringing together various strands of film and foley sounds, beat and voice sampling, and lost and found objects to create warm, unorthodox sonic turns.
Cousin will get to the story within the story with the release of his latest Joni Void album, Mise En Abyme, due March 29 on Constellation Records. As a sort of trailer for what’s to come, Void is premiering “Dysfunctional Helper” here today.
Continuing his method of not “playing” anything at all, Void primarily uses vox sampling and minimal beats on Mise En Abyme to produce a “time-travel experiment” in healing and memory recollection through the manipulation of others’ voices. The tranced cut-up “Dysfunctional Helper” proves that mutants can be a baffling sort, but this one’s DNA shows they can also be elusive DIY producers capable of making music chock-full of forlorn sentiments.
Pre-order Mise En Abyme here, and listen to “Dysfunctional Helper” below.
Mise En Abyme tracklisting:
01. Paradox
02. Dysfunctional Helper
03. Lov-ender
04. Abusers
05. Non-dit
06. No Reply
07. Safe House
08. Cinetrauma
09. Voix Sans Issue
10. Deep Impression
11. Persistence
12. Resolve