IXTAB “Alea” (Bezirk Tapes)




So this is how it is now. You like it cold, you like it dark, you like it lo-fi? Welcome to the Terrordome, then, sucker, because that’s how IXTAB is rolling this nightmare of a tape, winding up to knock all comers flat to the pavement. Dunno which is the giant and which is the dwarf, but Blood Room and ovis aurum comprise this two-headed beast and compose this chaos, so whichever is the one landing the right hook to your jaw doesn’t matter. They’re both kicking dust in your eyes on this one, and you’ll never get out of Bartertown alive.

That’s just fine, then, because this is junkyard techno for the wilderness, a soundtrack for survival in the vast expanse. You think there’s more? Nope – this is it, this is how the world is now. There’s no alien race that’s gonna come along and terraform us back into shape or nudge us into the next phase of evolution. We’ve got “Dbl-Vis” from the sunglare, and it and “Anouk” are the twin pillars flanking the entrance to this new life. We’ll fight over resources while “LLV3” and “LLV2” pulse in our veins, we’ll scavenge “Copper Objects” to pawn to the Darwinian elite. These rhythms will be the only things we have left to keep us moving, drumbeats to hasten the hours between sunrise and sunset. We’ll have to keep them in our hearts and minds, then, because there won’t be any sound systems, let alone electricity, to play them on. Tina Turner won’t even be around to be our villainous scapegoat. Ha, Tina Turner, are you high? We’ll be lucky to survive this far anyway, let alone worry about current situations and events.

All hail Alea, then, the only thing that will remind us to keep moving. IXTAB may just be a mirage at this point, but I’ll take the vision of this oasis as I succumb to exposure. The madness just allows me to bear it!




--Ryan Masteller