Review Summary: A psychedelic blend of krautrock and minimal electronic music…
Follakzoid have embarked on a quest to deconstruct their sound in order to capture an intensely psychedelic atmosphere with fewer sonic elements lately. The Chilean act stripped the acid rock guitars from the first couple of records, keeping only delayed, droning leads on 2015's
III, while the drums have been reduced to deep kick and faint snare beats. On the other hand, the band pushed the electronic parts up front, albeit in the same minimal fashion. This latest project,
I feels like a restart (hence the title), shedding the effects-laden guitar and insisting on various airy or abstract synths. The hour-long journey relies on a trance inducing repetition for you to immerse yourself in. Its hallucinatory rhythms feature very slight changes stretched over several minutes. The tracks have been arranged more or less akin to a puzzle, using dozens of recorded sounds and the result really takes the psychedelia to the next level for them. Numerous parts are intertwining along the way, so you can’t really tell if you heard a certain fragment already, because every sound is gradually altered once introduced. ‘IIII’ might be the most accessible song, since it can be viewed as a climax. The throbbing synths in the background are rushed by a motorik beat, whereas the pulsing bass is topped by guitar scratching noises as well as multiple glitchy bits. Towards the end, the tune transitions from krautrock/drone to an electronic piece that could very well be taken from a minimal techno mix. Overall,
I is an interesting record, mainly due to Follakzoid’s uncompromising efforts to cross boundaries between electronic music and psychedelia. Nevertheless, it might be too much to take in in one setting, unless you really are in the mood or on drugs to drift away while listening.
