Force Majeure
409
http://www.four09.org

I’ve got a thing for the ambient electronic aesthetic. And I’ve got a thing for numbers and the symbolism and coincidences hiding in them—whether real or perceived. Call it a pseudo numerology fetish with a soundtrack. So, I know before I drop 409’s Force Majeure into the computer CD player that the number 409 is a prime number, a centered triangular number that has a remainder of 1 when divided by 3 and the quotient (if positive) is the previous regular triangular number.

Whoa. Heavy. But then, as the tunes start playing a bunch of really weird stuff starts happening. I attempt to upload a file to my measly little website server and I get a “version control conflict” message bearing the conflict code “409.” Hmmm. I decide to try again later, opting to hit a more popular Hurricane Rita blogspot instead. And there, big as life, are some relief phone numbers bearing the (you guessed it) “409” area code… which covers Beaumont, Galveston, Port Arthur, Jasper and other impacted areas of Southeastern Texas.

And hey, speaking of “post-apocalypse”… Bush is from Texas. And his Dad’s library is in the 409 area code, too. Coincidence?? Then suddenly, I remember that my neighbor across the street was playing the Beach Boys’ “409” as he was washing his car this morning (giddy up, indeed). And the butoxyethanol-based cleaning product I just used to clean my kitchen? None other than Formula 409®.

No comments about me sniffing it, please.

Like Dave Gorman before me, I’m start getting a little FREAKED out now. In fact, I stopped just shy of exploring a blog that suggested that the number “409” explained why Tyler Durden and Osama bin Laden were one in the same person… and another “day of reckoning” link about a fictional play about Flight 409, where all the heathen air passengers die in a fiery crash and go to hell because they weren’t “saved.”

I suppose this has everything and nothing to do with the self-dubbed “degreaser collective of afterschool artists” from Cleveland known as 409. Theirs is the work of six sonic collage artists—all of whom deliver one of the most delicious slices of rich, atmospheric, kitchen-sink-electronic underground I’ve heard in a long time. It’s right up there with worldwide electronic compilations like Rendevous Lounge, Plush, Later, the Ultra series and even (gasp!) Ministry of Sound. And if you listen to it, there’s a little bit of everything I just described in the lead.

Yes, it’s that good. And it’s from your backyard.

409’s Force Majeure covers all of the bases, from sonic sculptures with hip-hop beats to stark, noise-driven minimalism and they even tweak the chill quotient just enough to make it brand new again. Winter + Nocturne and Mmodule deliver bastardized disco, glam-slash and jazz-inflected takes on hip-hop beats; Dan Merk (aka Merk) goes with the gritty city underbelly and snake-like scratching on “MTR”; Systm’s “Kryptozeit” (kryptonite zeitgeist?) is laid under chiming synth magic and a post-industrial breakbeat and features a snippet of Robert Miles’ “Children” with the same effectiveness as Jakatta’s “American Dream” did when it snaked Thomas Newman’s Lester Burnham.

And that’s only scratching the surface, quite honestly. With all due respect to Hooverphonic, this is A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular and a world-class sonic endeavor that even tips its hat to Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music in the process. Worldwide acclaim for 409 is mere moments away, so you had better pick this up NOW before these guys all hit the big time. Hearing is believing. You’ll be able to tell your friends “I remember when…”

I’d write more, but heck, I gotta go play my Pick 3 number first.

From Cool Cleveland correspondent Peter Chakerian peterATcoolcleveland.com (:divend:)