Amid the ongoing humanitarian crises in Gaza and Lebanon – marked by devastating violence against Palestinian civilians and escalating Israeli military aggression in Southern Lebanon –, Machinete’s forthcoming release, “Cost To Cost”, arrives as both a protest and a lifeline. The Italian duo and the Israeli label Confused Machines pledge all proceeds to The Ghassan Abu Sittah Children’s Fund, an organization delivering urgent medical aid to injured youth and bolstering healthcare infrastructure in these war-torn regions. By channeling their art into direct action, Marco Segato and Pietro Giubilato transform noise into a cry for justice, underscoring music’s potential to confront oppression and amplify solidarity.
Recorded sporadically between 2012 and 2020 in Venice and Milan, the album’s ten tracks are a testament to raw, unfiltered creativity. Machinete stitches together clanging Post-Industrial rhythms, corrosive Electro textures, and the searing buzz of Acid techno, crafting a soundscape that feels both chaotic and meticulously anarchic. These improvisational sessions, spanning nearly a decade, capture the duo’s evolution—shifting from murky Venetian alleyways to Milan’s concrete pulse – while maintaining a visceral, almost predatory energy. The parcel thrives on contradiction: mechanized beats collide with human urgency, dystopian noise morphs into hypnotic grooves, and every distorted synth line carries the weight of sleepless nights.
Premiered here, the title track epitomizes the album’s ethos. Here, Machinete merges Techno’s relentless drive with Industrial’s dystopian grit, conjuring a world where factories hum with malevolent intent. Gloomy basslines stalk beneath layers of metallic percussion, while eerie, pitch-shifted vocals echo like warnings from a collapsing world. It’s a raw, suffocating listen – a sonic vortex where darkness feels both oppressive and liberating. This fusion of genres isn’t just stylistic; it’s aural dissent, mirroring the chaos of conflict and the resilience it demands. With “Cost To Cost”, Machinete doesn’t just soundtrack rebellion – they weaponise sound for healing.
You can find (and buy) this and other music pearls on the Bandcamp page of the label.
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