Compulsory Skin's Pia Pale.
German electro industrial act Compulsory Skin have weighed in on the ongoing Occupy movement with their new track ‘The Rioter’. A song front woman Pia Pale describes as “music for the revolution”. Now streaming on soundcloud, ‘The Rioter’ is a slow burning eerie track at its opening and an atmospheric brooding soundtrack score set piece on the whole. Far from radio friendly stuff but stirring and evocative of the ongoing struggle, frustration and at times violence going on around the world as we speak. The dramatically more accessible 99% is still rough with some familiar smouldering rhythms poached from the vocabulary of Nine Inch Nails but gives mixed feelings as at this stage the instrumentation and sampling is far superior to the vocal track. While competent, Pale’s vocals don’t project with the same richness and intensity of the layered beats and in particular the moving accordion portions. All this aside, it feels like there’s a lot of bandwagon jumping to the Occupy campaign, the cult of Anonymous and the idolatry of V For Vendetta. Modern EBM and industrial is often steeped in fandom, be it on a thematic basis or an outright sample, and also, many bands have no problem wearing their heart on their sleeves when it comes to politics with their views shining through in almost everything they do. Occupy is seizing a lot of creative real estate with its use of digital media and revolutionary stance. In other words the bread and butter of the tech-obsessed dissatisfied counter-culture. Songs like ‘The Rioter’ aren’t unwelcome, but a sign of the times. The self same social media that have made this super-sized decentralised form of protest possible have allowed individuals around the world to watch as it all unfolds, be inspired and be moved. Compulsory Skin shouldn’t be penalised for that. What worries me though is the emphasis on a single subject highlighted in the band’s comments on twitter suggesting in the follow up track entitled ‘The 99%’. While freedom, fairness and rebellion are universally recognisable and timeless topics much of the Occupy tale now has its own rich but unique vernacular that limit the appeal and range of this new material. Compulsory Skin are also currently offering a number of older tracks including the spectacular ‘Twisted’ from the album ‘Naked To The Bones’ for free download via Soundcloud.
