Entropy Calamity is a noise music release from an artist known as Imitation, who by all accounts would appear to be some bedside dwelling introvert as there doesn't seem to be any information about his act or this recording on the web. Entropy Calamity consists of a sole noise track that is almost fifty minutes in length, whilst this could be considered a lot to stomach for anybody this recording is remarkable in the fact that it is, well, mostly unremarkable. But as I will try to argue this is not necessarily a bad thing.
The front cover chosen is a point of interest, it seems to have been lifted from some kind of physics textbook explaining the nature of how everything naturally turns towards disorder rather then the other way around (I believe this is known as entropy). This leads me to believe Entropy Calamity may be based around the theory, whether or not the music itself relates this concept well I cannot say but I will attempt to describe it.
The track opens with a barrage of white noise which is unobtrusive, yet thunderous. It persists throughout the whole piece, never flinching. It has a "standing in a storm" quality to it, a white, static storm perhaps, but still a storm. In a sense, it is quite beautiful. Then the hi-hats begin. A simple pattern loops over and over, breaking through the white noise and giving us some kind of reference point to rhythm. Shortly after, a whirlwind of a more intense noise holds center stage over what has already been built up and colours the piece in time to the hi-hats. Then it stops for a couple of bars to allow some room to breath, and starts again. This repeats, over and over. Whilst the atonality of the section itself sounds pleasing enough, this album will test your patience with repetition as for almost the entire bulk of it all you will be hearing is some layered white noise and a hi-hat. The album ends the way it started, maybe leaving you to feel more then a little cheated of time.
Now, this might seem lazy. Surely a bunch of grain filters have been put to work on a few audio files, and arranged in such a way that only a small segment had to copied and pasted multiple times to lengthen this out to Entropy Calamity's ridiculously indulgent running time. This may be true, however if you are anything like myself you might be tempted to reach to such pretentious terms as "hypnotic". Indeed, i've found white noise such as this as the perfect background music at times. It is unobtrusive, and the repetition and simplicity can help to keep you focused on other matters which ironically makes it feel more rewarding by not actually concentrating on it. Otherwise, I would say only those with the patience of a monk could pay their full attention to an album such as this but if you want to test yourself go right ahead.
I've always had a soft spot for attempts at sonic soundscapes such as Entropy Calamity, as I feel noise music in general is often misunderstood. However, the album is as extremely repetitive and lacking in variation which is going to make it a difficult listen to praise for even your most ardent fan of the genre.
