act 261 with 'escape' contagious orgasm continue to plough their uniquely peculiar furrow of audio experiments and self improvement, exploring the strange landscapes of numerous musical styles. dealing with influences ranging from ambient, dub, idm/electronica and electro to dark ambient and noise, it is an impossible task to completely comprehend this album's scope within just a few listens. this aural voyage atmospherically varies from hypnotic echo-based beat pulses and moony synthesized melodies up to disturbing industrial soundscapes. mighty bass strokes, a multitude of different rhythms, manipulated voices and skillfully applied samples result in an adventurous and enthralling work of sonic art captivating with its deep, transparent production. turn off the light and let yourself fall into this album's very own flow. a quite accessible, multifarious, and yet typical element of contagious orgasm's wide cosmos in its charm, enjoyment and surprise.

act 211 hiroshi hashimoto started releasing music twenty years ago as contagious orgasm. right from the beginning listeners knew that there was something very unique and special about c.o.'s sound - differing from the typical japanese 'industrial scene'. the initial aural transformation of track and release titles were soon replaced by something quite different. themes became more abstract and surrealistic; influences came from various collaborations and often seriousness was undercut with a wink... as on previous c.o. releases you can hear musical and stylistic sources from many cultural areas; for instance on 'ripple' you can hear indian chants, dub bass, electronic clicks/cuts, gongs, a piano, even straight beats and minimal sequencer grooves. styles range from free form to dance music to idm to noise and to ethnic sources. in hashimoto's works these ingredients cease what they were before - they are now transformed into coherent music (without being a eclectic cliché). an example: often many artists use voice samples in their work, to explain or to engross thoughts. hashimoto's usage of samples take the 'instruments of speech' out of their initial contexts - used in c.o.'s metaverse they entirely lose their initial intent and function. if we go further and think about 'rhythms', 'melodies' and 'textures' instead of 'voices', we might have a key to c.o.'s self conception. this album should be experienced with all senses wide open.

1997年にイギリスの Harbinger SoundからリリースしたLPが、ドイツのレーベルRaubbauからCDで再発されました。 https://raubbau.bandcamp.com/album/impregnate-mannequin