Beyond Metal: Noon

 

 

SWITCH TO PL

I have a confession to make. As a kid, I toyed around with numerous music-making software. MIDI (I wonder if anyone knows nowadays what kind of format it is), Guitar Pro 6, some Rave Generator I don't remember the name of (the trial version), and the cult Dance E-Jay, parts two, three, and four. I've saved my garbage for posterity (?) and sometimes I revisit it for fun. The point is, I understand people who wanted to take it to the next level and start making electronic music seriously, using professional tools.

Today's legend, as he should be called, hails from Poland, but can easily be advertised worldwide, due to the vocal-less nature of his work. We're talking about (as you might guess) Noon, aka Mikołaj Bugajak. Admittedly, I'm far from worshipping this artist the way that many people do, but I thought that if I'm going to present this type of music, why not going for the cream of the top?

According to the internet, his work falls under the broad umbrella of Instrumental Hip Hop, Downtempo, IDM, Glitch, whatever the fuck that means. I'll skip over his numerous collaborations with various rappers, but I'll just mention that these works are always released officially in two versions: with, and without vocals. Funnily enough, the instrumental versions usually sell better and are generally more acclaimed. Honestly, I can't think of another such example off the top of my head. Anyway, I'll focus on his solo work, especially (though not exclusively) his debut album, "Bleak Output." 

Deceptively minimalist, and with a bitter, introspective flavor, the album attempts to grasp the fleeting moments and emotions that accompany person's journey through the life. Some might call such sounds depressing, and there's some truth to that, as the artist managed to imbue a specific sense of grayness and hopelessness into his music. The tones are anything but bittersweet. The first half is also significantly better, before the artist rushes towards total experimentation and drifts into the total unknown. 

Okay, enough comparisons, as I don't want you to get your stomach sick.

After the (IMO) successful and underrated "Bleak Output," Noon switched to the mini-album format. I'd consider "Gry Studyjne" (2004, really came close to being a full-length) an excellent follow-up, not so much sonically as conceptually, due to the album flowing perfectly with wide array of emotions from track to track. However, "Pewne Sekwencje" (2008), while not offensive in any way, didn't grab me much. It was just decent. 

The public had to wait exactly 10 years for another EP, called "Algorytm". And that's where I parted ways with the artist's works, as it completely failed to resonate with me, and I'm not quite sure why, as it's not really that different, albeit I didn't feel "the spark in it." There were also more works down the line, but for now, I didn't really feel like checking them out, but who knows, someday my curiosity might win. Maybe it's really just a matter of a bad rainy day, or being in the right mood for this type of music? Whatever is the reason, I tentatively recommend it to those who aren't afraid of electronica like some holy water. But I wouldn't necessarily recommend it either, it's more for people, who want to expand their palette with additional colors. It's very tough not to fall into poetry, for which I sincerely apologize. 

HAIL METAL (now I feel better).