Review Summary: Start a fire for something new
Drekka’s source material bears occultist, tome-like qualities in the hands of Rob Funkhouser.
Within the Realm of The Unknown is a series of reworks, based on a collection of audio prototypes. Bloomington, Indiana-based ambient/folk musician Michael Anderson (aka Drekka, also previously of shoegaze act Lovesliescrushing) has been described as obsessive in both composition and his live performances, and this characteristic seeps into Funkhouser’s recreations rather well. Opener “Section I” builds tension, and continuously threatens to collapse on itself, but remains determined, humming. The song balances musical subtlety with neurosis - not entirely detached from reality in that it utilizes a lot of seemingly real noises via industrial tinkering, but nonetheless unhinged and probably paranoid in tone. It’s the sound of sitting in an almost-empty room, attempting to maintain firm focus, but succumbing to weird phobias of minor inanimate objects preying on your psyche. Or something.
Much of
Within the Realm of the Unkown's inspiration is drawn from Drekka’s
Unbeknownst to the Participants at Hand, an album constructed of scattered sound archives of questionable origins, dating back to who-knows-when from who-knows-what; Funkhouser’s project is, then, like a reconstruction of a nonpictorial scrapbook. Over each track hangs a sort of smog, masking some of the nuance. “Section II” has rapid, multi-platform industrial rhythms with swelling ambience that sounds both jagged and fluid, yet Funkhouser seems to remain on the outside looking in, rather than fully exploring the sonic space. “Section IV” is more provocative, as the sound is one of deterioration, as though the concrète texture is being intermittently devoured by little robotic termites - ironic, given both the Funkhouser’s intent of rebuilding, and Drekka’s insistence on preserving documents.
Within the Realm of the Unkown is a success in that it breathes new life into some of Drekka’s work (or, at least, building blocks of his work), but a lot of the unpredictability and fascination is dampened by an overarching concentration. Often, it feels like what it literally is: one musician poking and prodding at another’s material, fixated, uncertain but nonetheless persistent. It doesn’t have a ton of breathing room, with dense, swelling ambience throughout, and themes of oppression and dystopia. By contrast, much of Drekka’s music is light and sparse, while also balancing soothing psych-folk with abrasive noise; Funkhouser’s interpretation is a bit less dynamic in tone, though has plenty of layers worth sifting through.
Within the Realm of the Unknown is titled well, as it doesn’t purport to be anything different - it exists in an amorphous soundscape, coping with uncertainty. Somehow, this makes Funkhouser’s approach more intriguing than Drekka’s original material, as it creates a rapport with the audience in a weird, fourth-wall kinda way.
