Shex / OMMM

"Shex vs. OMMM" split 7"

ADAADAT

Genres: IDM, experimental techno, breakcore

ADAADAT
PO Box 39025
London E2 8WP
UK

Oct 4 - 10 2004

The Shex vs. Ommm split 7" is a bit like a battle, with both acts getting a side of the record with which to stake their claim.  Shex puts its side to good use, dissecting a rock song to nothingness with "Rocknroll 1999" and cutting up all sorts of oddball media into a hardcore collage called "Timpo."  The Shex style is very in-your-face and rapid, with beats, riffs, and various other soundclips coming at you like gunfire.  It's certainly an experimental sound, but not a completely inaccessible one.

Ommm, meanwhile, has a much more familiar style, making use of complex IDM beats and pristine electro melodies to come up with a very Boards of Canada-esque sound.  "UFO's Building the Pyramids" is straight up BoC, although "Plasmawatchpen" is a bit more abstract, with a sound more akin to AFX or Autechre.

So who wins the battle?  It's hard to say, as Shex and Ommm are so plainly different.  Only the length of their names is alike.  I suppose the naming of the victor all depends on which you prefer: hardcore sample-carnage, or complex, melodic IDM.

82%

Matt Shimmer

[Vitals: 4 tracks, distributed by Post Everything, released 2004]