Post Apoc Manufactura K4 49
Berry Spitsberg
In 2001, Local Toronto DJ Wade Anderson co-founded sub.session.records, and released Prospero's debut limited edition CDr A Storm is Coming.Prospero's formative second release, Spreading the Infection, was released in 2004 was a double CD split release between sub.session media and France's Brume Records. In 2008 Prospero signed to Toronto-based Artoffact Records release his third CD, Folie Deux, which contained collaborations with Ayria, Battery Cage, It-clings, and Terrorfakt.
In the first decade Prospero contributed tracks to a number of compilations, including Sub.Session and Duo.Tone released by sub.session.records; Saturation Bombing I and II and [tik]co:man:d[sic] by TIK Recordings.
As Prospero, Anderson has remixed tracks for other notable rhythmic noise artists such as Empusae, s:cage, and Converter as well as playing several industrial festivals, most notably the COMA festivals in Canada. Prospero's early years were marked by a musical style that incorporated dramatic post apocalyptic themes, arpeggiated synths lines and heavy industrial percussion characteristic of the rhythmic noise genre.
In 2011 Prospero released its fourth full length album Turning Point, a 14 track release with remixes by Fractured, Mara's Torment and most notable, a rare resurrection of Xorcist, with his rendition of the title track "Turning Point". Turning Point also marked a change in the band's core musical direction and creative approach introducing a more abstract, and acoustic based element via Prospero's live show, incorporating guitar, tribal percussion and even bagpipes to the instrument arsenal.
Part of this change was the slow integration of local DJ and music writer Steve Sandford (aka Hangedman) as a permanent member of the band. Initially part of the live show support for EBM fest, Sandford added acoustic tribal percussion, bagpipes and vocals. Inspired by Prospero, Hangedman abandoned his own solo project V Combust and focused on re-writing material with a mind to the Prospero style and repertoire.
With the addition of Sandford as a full-time member of the band, and Anderson as the core creative lead, in 2013 the band made a formative trip to Iceland to DJ at a local Reykjavk subculture music night. Inspired by this trip and along with a live performance at a local Toronto Industrial Noise night Burning Chrome the duo was solidified into Prospero as a two man project with Sandford writing original music alongside Anderson.
In this new incarnation of Prospero, 2014 saw the band releasing Paradise or Apocalypse. PoA was the fifth full length album with 14 tracks and remixes by Daniel Myer (Haujobb, Architect), iVardensphere, Pulse Plant, and Jonah K. Galvanized by the addition of tribal and folk elements as well as vocals from Sandford and Veela, Prospero continues to explore new themes while remaining true to their industrial electronic roots.
In addition to the core members, Luis Kamakaris has been a long time support on live drums and vocals have been provided by Veela, Tyler Newman (Battery Cage), Ayria and Justin Tripp (Re-Agent). Both Anderson and Sandford take the approach of Prospero being a musical project in the tradition of iVardensphere and welcome side contributors both in the live shows and album releases with many more to come.
The band's influences are too many to list and delve deep into a vast history of music since the post-punk 1980s period to present. The best descriptor of musical influences in general is "subculture" music ranging from pioneers such as Front Line Assembly, and Skinny Puppy to more recent bands like iVardensphere. A short list of artists among many others are:
Prospero's music is a fusion of electronic industrial noise marked occasionally acoustic percussion and folk elements. Genre-wise, they are primarily a tribal / rhythmic noise project. Prospero explores a juxtaposition between the dystopian future and post apocalyptic themes against an almost folksy, occult influenced mis en scene of mystery and darkness. With the addition of Sandford the band has skirted with neofolk aspects while retaining a solidly electronic noise presence established since Anderson's foundation. Many of the song titles reference enigmatic mysteries, forgotten places, or cataclysmic scenarios. Zombies, end of days, inter-stellar voyages, ancient martial references and folk inspired witchcraft are all thematic elements found in Prospero's music. Politically and sometimes via their music, Prospero is patently anti-racist, anti-homophobic and anti-misogynist at their core.
This was my first time attending and I had the pleasure to travel with Glass Apple Bonzai. Amongst the dozens of bands, we also met local artists Spawn of the Dead & Twizted Eye Candy. The good folk of Storming the Base were in attendance with enough wicked pressed tunes to bankrupt me into the next year.
Dickens Pub in Calgary has been the gracious host of Terminus for three years running. A huge thank you to Chris, Ambor and all the other staff for their tremendous hospitality, from booking hotels and transport to keeping the whole show on point for the weekend.
Close to home, Ivardensphere were able to unleash their full tribal noise spectrum with fascinating Taiko drums and ululating vocals. Watching them was like jumping down a magical snake hole in a post-apocalyptic jungle.
Velvet Acid Christ was instrumental to my youth; it was the Nirvana of my teenage-hood, a perfect proxy to the misanthropy and iconoclastic fear I experienced in some of the loneliest moments of my life.
I stepped on three people and elbowed a fourth on my frenzied way to the merch table after Perturbator got off stage: just in time to snag his last disk. We played it half a dozen times in the hotel room throughout the rest of the weekend. Then we watched Mad Max: Fury Road with Perturbator as the soundtrack.
My first impression was that of a sonic cataclysm. It still is. Mika is a f*cking weirdo and I will forever worship him for it; not to mention the rest of the live crew were among my favourite recurrent performers of the weekend.
Yet another new sound for me, Seeming had a very interesting allure, a strange permutation of gothic and industrial, the poetic and the morbid. By far the most melodically eloquent act of the week, I followed through to read some of their lyrics after the show which gave me far better insight into their delicate sensitivities and the passion behind their performance.
Although Perturbator totally stole the trophy for the new discoveries category, V>LH>LL was a close second. I noticed people wearing their shirts all evening; they certainly have a large throng of zealous fans in Calgary.
These two Artoffact signed Swedes had me dancing so hard I almost forgot to snap a (blurry) shot for my records. Their sound was multifarious, an aggressive strain of witch house with a solid industrial fuselage and disjointed breakcore-style riffs.
And that was that. After decompressing around town with some of the wicked peeps we met this weekend, on Monday we packed up and left Calgary in a trance. I will miss that city and vow to return to the already rumoured 2016 Terminus festival.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R's supposed successor Areal has been called out as fraudulent by Survarium developer Vostok Games. West Games has now suggested that the scandal between West Games, modder Misery and Vostok Games was created by the media.
UPDATE 15: We've been sent a link to an Imgur gallery that seems to contain an Areal pre-alpha screenshot, compared to a screen taken from the Unity post-apocalyptic tool pack. The similarities are clear:
The use of Unity is odd, considering West Games claimed it is building Areal in a new propitiatory game engine on Kickstarter. It could be using Unity to create a prototype of course, but we're yet to see evidence of the game running in this purpose-built engine, or at all for that matter.
Vostok's Oleg Yavorsky told me over email, "I think instead of blaming press, the Areal guys should really be grateful for all the hype the press helped them make for their yet non-existing project. If they are accusing press of non-professionalism, the best favour you could do for them is simply stop writing about them.
UPDATE 13: I just asked West Games to clarify who Leonid Kovtun is (last mentioned in update 12). Based in Las Vegas, this individual is believed to be the recipient of all funds generated by the Areal Kickstarter campaign. The shooter's Kickstarter page also lists West Games as based in Las Vegas.
"Forbes Magazine has been written such lie, that we even didn't know how to react on this. And I can asured you, we are honest people and we even don't say bad things about our haters and hurters. Because we are higher, than this all, we are intelligent and civil people, who just want to make an awesome game, in honest way."
I received a reply that states - again - that Survarium developer Vostok Games paid for press against the Areal project, and that this unnamed party is "very close to the company." The rep added that some individuals were paid to comment negatively on the game's Kickstarter and Facebook pages, but that despite this, the game has support from the "USA".
The reference to America could explain why West Games is listed as a Las Vegas firm on Kickstarter (See update 4 below), and could link to the firm to one Leonid Kovtun, who is receiving all of the funds generated by the Areal fundraising campaign. I've emailed them separately about this matter and will update if I hear more.
"You know, this information about that Vostok paid for publications appeared from some persons, that are a very close to that company. It was not honest from their side, and they have been asured, that no one will never know about this. But the truth has won. And also we had an information, that some people paid to other people, that they attack as with different things on a Kickstarter and Facebook.
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