Det går ikke stille for sig, når Prison Religion går på scenen med deres apokalyptiske noise-rap. Forvent massive støjmure, kaotiske collager af formummede skrig, og beats så tunge som lyden af pistolskud i det offentlige rum. Duoen har spillet på europæiske festivaler som CTM, Unsound og Le Guess Who?, og albummet “Beachhead” røg på musikmediet The Wires liste over de bedste elektroniske albums i 2019. Prison Religions mørke amalgam af noise, screamo-rap og klubmusik bliver uden tvivl en rå og rystende oplevelse, som vi ser frem til at præsentere på ALICE. Oplev desuden Fatäk og Son of Seth!

Fra Richmond i Virginia stammer duoen bestående af de to venner Parker Black og Warren Jones. Under navnet Prison Religion har de over en række udgivelser siden 2016 flænset sig igennem genrer som rap, techno, noise og hardcorepunk som en makulator æder sig gennem en bunke papir. Man kan beskrive det som hardcorepunk for raver-typer, eller klubmusik for noisehoveder.

Kan man lide at gå på opdagelse i yderområderne af eksperimenterende elektronisk musik, åbner Prison Religion en veritabel portal. At deltage i en af deres liveperformances er en mørk, larmende, overvældende og transformatorisk oplevelse: Pumpende industrielle beats sender nervesystemet op i det røde felt, og afbrydes kun af frådende screamo-rap. Duoen tilstræber at skabe et lydligt udtryk på højde med en samtid, hvor det totale sammenbrud allerede er en realitet.

Den genrebøjende tilgang er gennemgående. Mens “Cage With Mirrored Bars” fra 2016 var mere identificerbar rapmusik, bevægede 2018-ep’en “O Fucc Im On The Wrong Planet” sig over i en form for destruktiv kontemporær klubmusik. Den nyeste udgivelse, “Hard Industrial Bop”, sporer sig i højere grad ind på rendyrket noise. Som VICE skrev:

"They draw on slivered, staticky forms of electronic music—industrial, noise, techno, and the sort of glass-shattering bass-heavy stuff that people have come to call deconstructed club music (whatever that means). But they also draw on legacies of metal and hardcore, throwing their bodies around at shows, punching low ceiling and screaming over PAs pushed to their upper limits"

Son of Seth

Death Industrial kombineret med Punk Electronics og rave-elementer skaber en eksplosiv liveoptræden, der griber lytteren og fanger sindet. Tunge beats og skrigende vokaler, efterfulgt af forvrængede lyde af apokalyptisk karakter, sætter scenen for denne dystopiske renegat.

Son af Seth har delt scene med kunstnere som Anna Von Hausswolf, Offermose, Brighter Death Now, Duma, Luis Vasques (The Soft Moon), Iron Sight, Black Curse og Spirit Possession. Hans seneste udgivelse "De dor a ódio" er ude på Trepanation Recordings.

In English

Richmond, Virginia-based collage-rap/noise duo Prison Religion show that the heaviest of music is often-times economical and raw in its execution. Expect caustic wall of sound, heavy beats akin to public gunshots, mumbled screams like breaking glass, thumping flourishes of techno or weighty drones. The duo has performed at European festivals such as CTM, Unsound, and Le Guess Who?, and their album "Beachhead" made it onto The Wire's list of the best electronic albums in 2019. Brace yourself for their dark and electrifying energy of their live performance at ALICE!

The duo’s work offers escape while also holding up a mirror to where we’re at societally – and yelling about it. The music, then, is meeting the need both sonically and subject-wise for what they weren’t hearing elsewhere, evolving over the years alongside the conversation of its two members, friends Parker Black and Warren Jones. Their sound is a genuine reaction to the world around them: we are already in the apocalypse.

More and more, their recorded music aims to capture the uninhibited, raw energy of their live shows. The live setup at a Prison Religion show has evolved into two CDJs that leave the pair facing each other, in back and forth discussion with one another, bringing the audience inside the show rather than performing to them: using music as a conduit to exchange energy with the crowd, their CDJs bringing an instrumentality, augmentation and exploration beyond what might traditionally be considered the confines of electronic music. Ultimately, the music is the message, and both live and recorded Prison Religion feel both confrontational and holistic.

Ultimately, the music is the message, and both live and recorded Prison Religion feel both confrontational and holistic. It’s a sound that’s been taking hold of a lot of listeners. Releasing via prolific labels like UIQ and Halcyon Veil, their album Beachhead was named as one of The Wire’s best electronic albums of 2019. Their latest release, “Hard Industrial Bop” has received praise from outlets such as Pitchfork, VICE, and radio support from the likes of BBC 6Music and RinseFM.

Prison Religion is excavating our excesses. There’s no utopia waiting for us, but Parker and Warren are offering up a catharsis so intense that it might just cleanse us, pushing us towards rebuilding something brighter and better.

As VICE Magazine puts it:
"They draw on slivered, staticky forms of electronic music—industrial, noise, techno, and the sort of glass-shattering bass-heavy stuff that people have come to call deconstructed club music (whatever that means). But they also draw on legacies of metal and hardcore, throwing their bodies around at shows, punching low ceiling and screaming over PAs pushed to their upper limits"