- NK Projekt is a multipurpose arts space in Neukölln that fervently supports the electronic end of Berlin's experimental scene. Earlier this month the venue hosted the adventurous noise duo of Russell Haswell and Painjerk, plus Rashad Becker of Dubplates & Mastering.
The queue stretched down the stairs leading up to the venue, and inside the room was stuffy and full of expectation. Rashad Becker's live show is loosely based around material from his debut album on PAN, Traditional Music Of Notional Species. His use of frequencies within the human vocal range lent his music an uneasy quality: as he coaxed those gurgles and whines from his gear, the sound was at once familiar and repulsive. Chirps and moans hung in the air before worming their way through the mostly seated room like a swarm of insects. Between waves, Becker reverted to a simple stuttering motif, giving the set a pleasing sense of narrative and allowing the audience a chance to breathe before he once again unleashed his samples.
Rusell Haswell is a bit of an anti-hero. He enthusiastically shuns convention, is unpredictable as hell and seems to live by the old punk mantra "everything is shit." With his travelling modular racks, a laptop and a home-made instrument, Haswell and Kohei Gomi of Painjerk got straight to it. At punishing volume Haswell’s lurching, dynamic warbles smashed headlong into harsh digital static. Despite their differences in technique and approach, it was hard to tell who was doing what. After a particularly visceral breakdown, a broken kick pattern powered into existence—things were getting more brutal. The percussive backbone worked well, giving the duo's improvisational meanderings a primal urgency and, paradoxically, makings things more palatable. The music was beyond experimental—it was experiential and shockingly raw.