Only one year has passed since Berlin-based Swarm Intelligence (Simon Hayes) released his first album Faction for Berlin-based label Ad Noiseam. Faction was a very particular album in the post-industrial landscape that included really heavy beats. Fast forward a year later and we have the release of his new album Rust (2015). Rust shows a major change in Hayes' sound, although it confirms a certain slight common thread with the previous album. Rust is the quintessence of what could be identified with industrial music today. Hayes focuses on the absorption of sounds (and their context) coming from abandoned factories, power plants, and corroded metals. This is industrial music that focuses on sound research and really the raw definition of industrial as an art form.
Hayes uses his headphones to create communication between the human and the industrial world. His goal is to bring the listener to listen to the noisy communication between the machines. He stays loyal to the early industrial approaches.
Rust is characterized by a strong cinematic taste. The difference here is that this is not the product of a director's imagination, but more so memories of the places visited by Hayes himself. A major differentiation from Rust's predecessor is the major emphasis on rhythmic patterns that become deeper and more organic as the tracks progress. Overall, this is an album meant to be listened to in whole and to really feel those crumbling industrial landscapes.
Several different elements coexist on Rust and this album has its own identity. This is a work that requires many listens, and with each listen there will be something new found underneath the warm blanket of noise. Swarm Intelligence succeeds in recovering an old sound and producing an album that has an enormous amount of processed sounds, rhythmic changes, and atmospheres. Simon Hayes is a master with field recordings and proves this on Swarm Intelligence's Rust.
Hear the track 'Iridescent' below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jhYPwjDMcs
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