• Basket
  • RA Store
  • Login / Register
  • Login
  • Register
Resident Advisor
×
Search
Submit
Did you mean
×
  • Resident Advisor
  • Magazine
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Features
    • Videos
  • Listings
    • Events
    • Clubs
    • Festivals
    • Photos
  • Music
    • Artists
    • New Tracks
    • DJ Charts
    • Podcasts
  • Search
  • Reviews
  • /
  • Albums

Various - Physically Sick 2

    • Label /
      Allergy Season
      N/A
    • Released /
      March 2018
    • Style /
      Techno, Ambient, Experimental
    • Comments /
      20 / View
    • Rating /
      4.0/5
    • Previous
    • Next
    Various - Physically Sick 2 Various - Physically Sick 2
    Various - Physically Sick 2 "There is a fetid smell, the pollen and hatred of bigotry, wafting through the air," read the text that came with the first Physically Sick compilation, released last year around the time of Donald Trump's inauguration. The 42-track collection harnessed the near-universal anger and dismay of the moment to raise money for charities like Planned Parenthood and the ACLU, with a radically diverse spread of artists from across the DIY electronic spectrum. Last month, Physical Therapy's Allergy Season label and Discwoman compiled a second Physically Sick collection, which strikes a marginally more hopeful note: "Well, the world's still here. For now."

    Last year's anger has now crystallized into anxiety, and constant outrage has settled into numbness. ("We're still sick!" exclaims Physically Sick 2's accompanying text.) This time the group responds by narrowing their focus to one cause: the Brooklyn Community Bail Fund, a nonprofit that helps individuals escape the unforgiving terms of bail that can keep even those never convicted of a crime in prison for months. The focus on a particular organisation suggests a newfound precision on the part of the artists involved. Instead of railing against a seemingly unstoppable tide, Physically Sick 2 tries to fix a broken part of a broken system.

    The focus on Brooklyn makes sense. While the artists on this compilation come from all over, at its core Physically Sick 2 highlights a scene that has grown out of the borough's DIY techno community. Having once set up shop at venues like 285 Kent, Trans-Pecos and Bossa Nova Civic Club, its artists now travel to play worldwide. As well as being a charity compilation, Physically Sick 2 is a survey of some of the most forward-thinking underground dance music artists operating today.

    Several tracks stand out. Matrixxman and Physical Therapy's collaboration "5 Years (Part 2)" is masterful contemporary techno with chords that roll in like dark storm clouds. Ciel's "Terracotta" is its antithesis, an eight-minute mist of healing ambient. BEARCAT slips into slo-mo dancehall on "VIVA." Elysia Crampton gets cathartic with "Oscollo (Drums Only Version)." Lady Blacktronika throws mentasm riffs into viscous techno with "Crazy Bantu Boy." Each track bursts with personality—it's a dance music compilation that favours difference over sameness.

    Call Super (as Elmo Crumb), Laurel Halo and Varg are among the big names on the compilation, but some of its highlights come from lesser-known producers. Liquid Asset's "4u" is a daydreamy haze that recalls early Brooklyn DIY techno. "Twisted," by Hiro Kone, sounds like a post-dubstep tune going off the rails. There are diversions away from dance music, like exael's swampy post-vaporwave cut, "Flowered Knife Shadows," or Oprah Goldberg's frantic "Pre Copy," which sounds like a skipping CD. Plenty other experimental moments act like pockets of relief from the banging beats around them. This makes the compilation feels well-rounded, even if you won't listen to the whole three and a half hours in one sitting.

    Unlike most tracks here, Tygapaw's "BLACK WOMXN EXPERIENCE" engages directly with political themes. Stories of oppression and discrimination are told over an eerie instrumental of decaying tones and unsettling sound effects. The track is relevant to Physically Sick 2's chosen aim, since the US justice system disproportionately incarcerates black people over any other racial group. But even the tracks without words are powerful because they're part of a compilation that cherishes and reaffirms dance music's origins in queer culture and inclusivity. Activism comes in many forms, and so do the people practicing it. There's no better proof than Physically Sick 2, a commendable undertaking that isn't going to save the world, but could help fix a small part of it.
    • Published /
      Fri / 6 Apr 2018
    • Words /
      Andrew Ryce
    • Share
    • Tracklist /
      01. Fatima Al Qadiri - Pre-Extinction (Incompatibility)
      02. Tygapaw - BLACK WOMXN EXPERIENCE
      03. FOOZOOL & 8ULENTINA - Plasma
      04. Elysia Crampton - Oscollo (Drums Only Version)
      05. Ziúr - Damage-Relate
      06. Giant Swan - IGOM
      07. Pelada - Destado
      08. íñtérséctíóń - Terms And Conditions
      09. Enayet Kabir - Chokkor
      10. Varg - B__H_I : 247
      11. Nikita Zabelin - Four Gents (Quartett)
      12. False Witness - Claudia Jones
      13. BEARCAT - VIVA
      14. Hiro Kone - Twisted
      15. Tzusing - Cubicle
      16. M.E.S.H. - Gov Patrol
      17. E-Saggila - Carbon Snare
      18. Shannon Funchess - See That Nigga
      19. Xexexe - Air For One
      20. Le1f - Zone Angel
      21. Oprah Goldberg - Pre Copy
      22. Exael - Flowered Knife Shadows
      23. Ciel - Terracotta
      24. Anthony Parasole - In The Stars
      25. Matrixxman & Physical Therapy - 5 Years (Part 2)
      26. Umfang - Complete Your Collection
      27. Roma Zuckerman - Shakedown
      28. Lauren Flax & Tigga Calore - Earthquake
      29. Lady Blacktronika - Crazy Bantu Boy
      30. Doxa - Disideratum
      31. Ciarra Black - By Design
      32. Rune Bagge - Demons
      33. Puce Mary - A Severed Head
      34. Elmo Crumb - I'm Still Dizzy
      35. Laurel Halo - Excerpt From An Open Letter To John Paul II
      36. PAUL - Presevero
      37. Pil - Toy
      38. Beta Librae - Short Circuit
      39. Liquid Asset - 4u
      40. Kiki Kudo - Freakey Ke Ke
      41. Si Begg - Sick And Tired Of Bullshit
      42. Bryn Barnett - Low
      43. Mobilegirl - Passing
      44. EMBACI - Walk On May 5th
    0/
  • Popular reviews

    • 20 comments

      Hunee - Hunchin' All Night

    • 26 comments

      Daniel Avery - Song For Alpha

    • 96 comments

      DJ Healer - Nothing 2 Loose / Prime Minister Of Doom - Mudshadow Propaganda

    • 27 comments

      DJ Koze ‎- Pick Up

    • 4 comments

      DGTL Amsterdam 2018: Five key performances

    • 19 comments

      Regal / Amelie Lens ‎- Involve 020

    • 12 comments

      Krystal Klear ‎- The Division

    • 8 comments

      Bangface Weekender 2018: Five key performances

    0/
  • Comments loading

    0/ #325714
    • More on Allergy Season

      Allergy Season

      Label started by NYC's Physical Therapy in 2013.
      View the full label profile

    • Reviews

      • 15 comments

        Various - Side Effects May Include

      • 3 comments

        Draveng - The Dubious Smink

      • 3 comments

        Physical Therapy - Million Years Crushed

    0/
  • Related artists

    Anthony Parasole
    Anthony Parasole
    Lady Blacktronika
    Lady Blacktronika
    Lauren Flax
    Lauren Flax
    Laurel Halo
    Laurel Halo
    M.E.S.H.
    M.E.S.H.
    Fatima Al Qadiri
    Fatima Al Qadiri
    Rune Bagge
    Rune Bagge
    Varg
    Varg
    Nikita Zabelin
    Nikita Zabelin
    Matrixxman
    Matrixxman
    Physical Therapy
    Physical Therapy
    Tzusing
    Tzusing
    Giant Swan
    Giant Swan
    Umfang
    Umfang
    Elysia Crampton
    Elysia Crampton
    Ciel
    Ciel
    Roma Zuckerman
    Roma Zuckerman
    TYGAPAW
    TYGAPAW
    Pelada
    Pelada
    Bearcat
    Bearcat
    Ziúr
    Ziúr
    E-Saggila
    E-Saggila
    False Witness
    False Witness
    Ciarra Black
    Ciarra Black
    Beta Librae
    Beta Librae
    8ULENTINA
    8ULENTINA
    FOOZOOL
    FOOZOOL
    Embaci
    Embaci
    Liquid Asset
    Liquid Asset
    Doxa
    Doxa
    Mobilegirl
    Mobilegirl
    0/
    • RA
    • Copyright © 2018 Resident Advisor Ltd.
    • All rights reserved
    • Privacy & Terms
    • Resident Advisor /
    • About
    • Advertise
    • Jobs
    • RA Events

    • RA Tickets /
    • My Tickets
    • Ticketing FAQ
    • Resale
    • Sell tickets on RA
    • Submit event

    • Apps /
    • RA Guide
    • RA Ticket Scanner
    • Elsewhere /
    • Watch on YouTube
    • Follow on Facebook
    • Listen on Apple Music
    • Stream on Spotify
  • RA is also available in Japanese. 日本版
    • RA on YouTube
    • RA on Facebook
    • RA on Twitter
    • RA on Google+
    • RA on Instagram
    • RA on Soundcloud