Der Blutharsch/Fuckhead/Josef Dvorak – Sous l’Arbre de Science
Here’s a glut of words that would fill up our article title to the point of causing a system error, most likely. That sounds pretty experimental, though, so we’ll stick with it. Sous l’Arbre de Science is actually a collaboration of three acts in one and man oh man does it leave you wanting. Not wanting in the sense of a desire for better musicianship, it’s a desire for more material because four tracks just wasn’t enough why did you do this? We’ll let that go, because perhaps more than four would have been too consuming. Anyway it’s the combined work of three awesome entities; Der Blutharsch, Fuckhead, and Josef Dvorak, which alone are a wealth of the obscure, but together something even more incredible. Der Blutharsch is the most well-known musical incarnation of Albin Julius, which previously had more of a militaristic bent but has since gone into areas of krautrock with a darker atmosphere. Fuckhead are an experimental electronic group from Vienna that are known for shocking pretty much everyone and their bizarre, live performances, and then we have Josef Dvorak, the “Satanologist” and author of Satanismus who is know for his theological discussions on the obvious, as well being one of the co-founders of Wiener Aktionismus. Just check out those links, seriously.
Christ, how could you fit all of that into one album in only four tracks? It sounds more like dissertation-level theory sure to go wrong, and we have a special feature for that now and then. But, okay, let’s give it a go, let’s worship and tear our flesh into pieces all for music (again, see above links please). This is easily one of the most successful collaborations ever conceived. Sous l’Arbre de Science may be a mere four tracks, but it’s four tracks you’ll find yourself absorbing several times with no lag in interest. It has a general ‘vintage’ feel to it, in fact the krautrock reference drop above was deliberate, because you might find yourself rolling along the Autobahn with some of this (the title track in particular), with the exception being that all of the cars are on fire and their occupants committing self-immolation.
So add to that dark ambient, vintage electronics, and Josef Dvorak’s ubermensch spoken-word and sermonesque segments over top and you get the entirety of Sous l’Arbre de Science. It’s fresh, yet old, fluid in its worship of things long past, driven by a theology concerning electronic space. And it proves easily what a successful collaboration requires. First and foremost the listener needs to forget there’s anything separate here, it needs to seem like music that exists on its own, entirely singular with separate parts so meticulously arranged they become something new. And that’s exactly what happens. Julius has been ridiculed in the press occasionally, undeservedly, for a sound that finds almost a kitsch fascination with wartime German culture, to the point that, to some fools, it might seem like a focus on things best left unspoken. But it’s not, it’s thoroughly Germanic, it’s almost nationalistic, but not for ways you’d assume, so get that out of your head and take a listen. Excellent work.
Der Blutharsch Official Facebook
Written by Stanley Stepanic
Der Blutharsch – Sous l’Arbre de Science
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4.7 / 5
