Zero/Stung

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Two dance soundtracks from Victoria's Darrin Verhagen, "Zero" and "Stung" can be taken almost as one piece, though the former is slightly more immediately explosive and the latter a little more reflective. Both were written a couple of years ago, "Zero" was commissioned by Chunky Move, choreographed by Lucy Guerin and first performed in Melbourne in Feb. 99, whereas "Stung" was commissioned by Danceworks, choreographed by Sue Healy and first performed in Albert Park, Jul.98. Though, as with film soundtracks in isolation, this music is still relevant now, its agile athleticism conjuring a performance of imaginary dancers for your delectation. Starting quietly, before edging into louder eruptions of industrial techno and fractured drum and bass, "Zero" is a constantly shifting soundscape, barely settling in one place for more than a couple of minutes. It employs great swathes of space, demarcated by glitchy sparks or bursts of fizzing static, increasingly punctuated by a lazy electro funk, or the louder percussive report of looped battery - either sharp drum patterns or skittering found sounds, and occasionally fragmented, dislocated female vocals. Compared to Shijuku Filth's "Raised by Wolves", "Zero/Stung" is perhaps more straight-ahead, though no less challenging. It's just that certain tracks, say "E.B." or "Parataxis" have a super-funky underpinning, driven along on breakbeat rushes, and others an incredibly seductive rich patina of drifting strings and gently pulsating rhythms, as in "Zone Melting"'s near-downtempo, albeit riven with insectoid glitchiness, and in fact, much of the second piece "Stung". The dynamic production is wonderful too, vast spaces and dense concentrations of noise enabling sudden vertiginous scene-shifts. Beautifully designed, as ever, and limited edition, this fine release stands up to be counted despite being divorced from the dance pieces it's designed for. Thunderously good music from the Dorobo main man.