You Will Not is not the first collaboration in between the ‘artists’ behind Empty Pool and D¥$FUNCTion. The first is an anonymous project from An English gentleman who lives in Andalusia, if I am well informed; the latter is one of the many outfits by Sir (bleak), a mysterious (human?) being from the U.K., who is active in several other projects, and who runs different small and independent labels. This specific release, for instance, gets released via one of this guy’s labels, Untitled Record Label. They did some other splits before (with D¥$FUNCTion acting under another moniker) and Empty Pool having released other stuff via a label run by D¥$FUNCTion.
First a word on the visuals: as simplistic as it is effective!
Anyway, this tenth release on Untitled Record Label consists of three elegies: one created by Empty Pool and two malformed by D¥$FUNCTion.
Empty Pool comes up with Flowers Shall Grow (which clocks fifteen minutes), which is extremely ‘soft’ and ‘silent’. It must be on purpose, I guess, yet it’s little disturbing as well. Flowers Shall Grow is one monotonous noisescape, a rumbling dronework that works like a narcotic remedy. This static piece is like one hugely manipulated field-recorded experience, once more exhaling that cryptic, mysterious spirit.
D¥$FUNCTion’s contributions are done by sonic sources, got by the ‘musician’ ‘both legally and illegally’. Untitled (#6) (11:00) and The Queen Of Cards (#7) (04:00) are harsh and experimental walls of Noise, permanently evolving and continuously assaulting the innocent listener with the overload on glitches, shrieks, blasts, loops and assaults. It’s a form of aural rape that any masochistic spirit might be willing to endure, for the total package intrigues and inspires. The untitled first piece is more experimental in nature, while the second one, The Queen Of Cards (#7), is more ‘dry’ in essence. These walls are as intolerant as they are teasing.
In short: You Will Not is a fine split, which will be worshipped by a certain HNW audience. Personally, I think it’s a pity that Empty Pool’s contribution has been recorded so sedately quiet, but on a higher volume one can surely enjoy this thundering static walling.
https://untitledrecordlabel.bandcamp.com/album/you-will-not
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/empty-pool
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/empty-pool-carrion