INVOLUTION

INVOLUTION From the inner sleeve: We come from the center and circumference of everything, radiating, drawing forth the Divine Influx. Together through our cosmic conceptions, we sublimate Omnipresence for all existing in and out this mirror of matter; who trusts and believes. 'Cause when our brainclouds glisten - and our eyes glide aside - our frequencies mesh - and thorugh our vibes, all consciousize. It is done unto you as you believe. What it does for us - it must do through us. Trust the invisible - for it is the sole cause of which is visible. Nothing moves but mind.

NAKED TRUTH MAGAZINE
Issue #10

This Cd came to me plastered with the names of the main players all over it, promising something completely different from what it really was offering but giving just as much more in other, more subtle ways. The names in question are cEvin Key of Skinny Puppy and Download, and Paris of Christian Death association, who, according to the press release are "legends in the Industrial, Goth and electronic scene." Many comparisons to Autechre have been made, among others, but with any electronic music with experimental bent, of which this has also been said of Involution, it is an easy thing just to say what the music sounds like and not to describe what the music feels like. Well, it may be easier to define this release by what it isn't, and that is your average punters idea of Goth and Industrial. You certainly won't find yourself doing the two step on the dancefloor to tracks off this, and if you do... What this offers is a soundscape, strange sonic forms arising from an ocean of sounds and textures, melting into each other and fading only to give rise to new, sometimes disturbing forms like the soundtrack to an unseen slasher movie screened in a deserted cinema. Aural shadows laze violently in the background, rhythms rise and fall with none seeming to dominate but with a common theme in mind. The hackneyed phrase "ambient" could be applied here, and this is certainly not music that immediately states its presence but rather surrounds, but ambient is too a quiescent phrase to be applied here. At times one feels directed along a path, guided by some sonic contours of the music but nothing is ever revealed, leaving the listener, in whatever state of mind he or she may be in, to apply their own narrative.

APOCALYPSE MAGAZINE
Issue #4
Review by zeVAPURR

If you made a fur coat out of a big ol' skinnY puppY, this stuff would be smooth, silky zip in lining. Recorded at SUBCONSCIOUS STUDIOS in beautiful downtown Vancouver and featuring our very own cEVIN Key and gear head pals PARIS (Christian Death) & BREE. All synthetic pulses, bubbling electronix and subtle beats infaded and outfaded. The overall sound establishes a certain level of lo-fi intensity and never really strays from it in any way as to be like, shocking or abrasive, it's hard to explain but there is a concept and the back of the CD sez it all... "Involution is the creation of the concept. Evolution is the time or process it takes for the Concept to become manifest. Involution is conscious act, Evolution is purely mechanical." And so it illustrates a fun little personal science xperiment wherein the song/trak you choose is the INVOLUTION - the cause of natural stimulation - and the affect said stimuli has on your systems pattern (just as I'm sitting here writing about it) is the Evolution... duh... well Science 101 with zeVAPURR also states that, I'd next sample the whole thing (or at least the best parts) and wire in my own beats 'n' grooves 'n' tingz and THAT'S Evolution with a whole new, purely mechanical effect; and then the management gets its suits and sues ya and THAT creative concept is a conscious act or an Involution!?! ...whatever... song titles run something like this; with '323 Khz' blowin' out my 'MOW' of 'CLAIRAUDIENCE', I'll toss my 'COIN' 'CENTERSIDE' with a fine display of 'TRAPHEEZEEOH' whilst I freely 'SMACK MY BIRCH' with 'TONTO, KING OF MANGO LAND' and then head off to the 'ACID CLAMBAKE' where I become lost in a 'BLIND TIMEFOLD' until I snap out of it being 'LICKED BY A CHICKEN' with 'HABEEB HAIR' and a 'SUCKMANSUCKER'...yow...

MARGEN Magazine
No. 17, Primavera '99
Involution: Involution
Review by Rafa Dorado

Nuevas producciones en el sello de Hollywood Tone Casualties, una de las editoras mas arriesgadas del panorama actual en contradiccion con su lugar de origen.

Involution es el proyecto de colaboracion entre Paris (Christian Death) y cEvin Key (Skinny Puppy, Download). Dos nombres propios de la escena gotica e industrial que combinan fuerzas para crear un trabajo de musica electronica primitiva, agresiva y saturada por ritmos organicos rescatados de alguna musica tribal cosmica. Su componente experimental no debe asustar a los amantes de los sonidos sinteticos mas armonicos y texturales, ya que a lo tengo de la produccion se van alternando todo tipo de elementos variados y el resultado final es el de una musica muy accesible e imaginativa. Si eres seguidor de las tendencias Coil y Nurse With Wound en sus facetas menos ruidistas, disfrutaras de esto.

SONIC BOOM WEB SITE
Involution: Involution

After his relocation to Los Angeles, cEvin Key kept himself busy with this collaborative attempt masterminded by Paris, formerly of Christian Death. Following in the footsteps of Download and cEvin's solo material, Involution is another album of abstract electronics, none remotely suited for club play. Instead Key and Paris focus on subtleties of composition, non-standard time signatures and tracks titles derived from pets. "Clairaudience" sums up the context of this album. The subdued Drum'n'Bass rhythm and matching keyboard chord builds for a minute, then off time staccato drums suddenly assault and that drive away the keyboard sections only replace them with a new drum pattern. The track changes meter at least six times including a bit of mix metering when sections of the track collide in a frenzy of drums. Key uses minimalism with calculating brilliance on this album, to the point of obsession. The cadence changes are also just as frequent and precisely executed. After several albums of mediocre material, all it took was the inclusion of new blood for Key's programming skills to once again shine through.

D.L.K. THE HELL KEY MAGAZINE
Issue #6, February 1999
Marc Urselli-Scharer

Involution is cEvin Key of Skinny Puppy/Download and Paris of Christian Death playing together some electronic-based experimental induscape music and invoking the law to set it in motion. They state that "Involution is the creation of the concept. Evolution is the time or process it takes the concept to become manifest. Involution=Case Evolution=Effect." Thinking about the fascinating theory I am listening to its practical side... Emphasizing the stereophonic headroom by hard-turning sounds, placing them on one side only or moving them around, the two create suitable ambience music with a couple of industrial excursions in the vein of Coil or Nurse With Wound, and do lots of experimentation and manipulation of sound sources. There's not always a truly definite or precise rhythmical structure as the most outstanding sounds do often help defining or refining or re-de-fining the course itself...

ATLANTA PRESS
January 29 - February 4, 1999
Review by Mitchell Foy

Sometimes it just takes the right setting. My first listen to this disc was midday in the yard digging holes for some godforsaken reason. The sun (and manual labor), you see, aren't very conductive to certain types of music. Involution is some such stuff. Not that it's particularly dark. In fact, one of the defining characteristics of the sounds contained within are the colors. Lots and lots of shades of violet, red, yellow, and green are mixed in with steel gray tones. These are best received in low light under an overcast sky. A good set of headphones and a lounge chair also help.

cEvin Key, who is best known for his role in Skinny Puppy and Paris, as well as some time logged with Christian Death, (note on review from TC webmaster: apparently this reviewer thought Paris was another band, not a musician, and credited cEvin with being in Christian Death instead of him. Oh well. It seems like he enjoyed the record anyway.) has come up with one absolutely LSD-inspired set of electronic vignettes. Sounds are manipulated and looped into submission over so many generations it's nearly impossible to define one source for any of it. Shit's popping in and out unexpectedly here nad there, with panning that must have been done by a Ritalin kid who lost his medicine. The bottom line is that these pieces, thirteen in all, are very mind-bending. Any one of them, it seems, could be developed into a much longer track. In fact; I bet under the right influence all of these pieces would meld together into one big pulsating, gelatinous mountain, burping and spitting up nuts and bolts. The only reason I can come up with as to why this music was made is to screw with heads. You certainly can't dance to it, which is a good thing (isn't there enough of that being made already?) I envision these two technology freaks in the laboratory / studio during the making of this disc giggling sinisterly with every bizarre twist of direction. One can only laugh along with them.

KORTEX WEBZINE
French review by Yanik Trudeau

TRANSPORTATION MAGAZINE
February 19, 1999
Review by Matthew Moyer

Fuck Bacharach and Costello one more time then.

Invoultion is one of those rare "superstar" projects that is not utterly eclipsed by the past glories of its creators. The creators in this case being cEvin Key of Download / Skinny Puppy ill-repute, and the lovely Paris from Shadow Project / EXP / Christian Death. Not bad at all, sirs. I had been looking forward to this record forever, and I am a completely satisfied consumer.

Invoultion contains all the trademark aural obsessions of its creators: Key's finger is still firmly pressed down on the "Quirky Percussion Effects" button, Paris throws dark synth shapes like no other, sampled voices surface and are quickly smothered, paranoia and weirdness. Key is further exploring the grim psyche-scape of "Charlie's family" and Paris is just being enigmatic. What most impressed me about this work was that in such a disconnected and clearly deranged album, these two could imbue their work with true emotion and expression. In the end, a record that could have been a headlong descent into noise hell actually contains long moments of warped beauty.

When one lays this record beside Drums For The Dying by Shadow Project and the recent Wound of Exit by Premature Ejaculations, the logical conclusion is that paris is a compositional genius to closely watch. I think he'll end up adding some important new blood to the flagging noise / experimental genre, and buck the Propaganda pin-up curse at the same time. cEvin Key, meanwhile, has proven himself once again a Renaissance man with an incurable cat fetish. Industrial kiddies should sit at his feet and take notes.

KDVIATIONS
Magazine for KDVS 90.3 FM
Winter 99

One of the more interesting post-Skinny Puppy projects for cEvin Key, Involution pairs him with former Christian Death member (and EXP, Face member) Paris. This album sounds like what one would expect cEvin Key to do if he had been listening to a lot of intelligent electronic music. It's very reminiscent of the Autechre sound and highly recommended to anyone into IDM or Key's other work. Not much else to say about this release but track it down!

FAQT MAGAZINE
Vol. 3 No. 1

Featuring cEvin Key and paris (ex Christian Death), Involution is a synergetic meeting of two electronic masterminds, one renowned, the other just getting started in the genre (check out Paris' solo album, Face, also on ToneCas). Where the two intersect musically is somewhere between Autechre-ish techno-scapes and under-stated kitchen-sink ambience. The results are a challenging and rewarding listening experience of the kind in which you hear new things upon each return. Unlike anything Key has done (to my knowledge), this duo has my blessing to collab again.

CHART MAGAZINE
Dec. 98 Jan 99 issue

A collaboration between paris Sedonis (a partner of the late Rozz Williams in Christian Death and Shadow Project) and CEvin Key (Skinny Puppy, Download), Involution may appear on paper to be a goth/industrial fan's wet dream come true. But on disk, it's definitely not the case, as the duo instead delves into the world of experimental soundscapes and edgy techno. Autechre is a fair (albeit obvious) comparison, and there are also some moments that recall Download and Key's recent "solo" release, Music For Cats. Speaking of our furry feline friends, one of them provides a sampled vocal for the track "Licked On By Chicken". I'm still, however, trying to find the Prodigy samples in "Smack My Birch". Perhaps I'm barking up the wrong tree?

VOLTAGE MAGAZINE
Jan 99 issue
Review by Johnny V

First things first: Involution is a collaboration between ex-Skinny Puppy, current Download maven cEvin Key and Paris who was responsible for most of the noisier elements in late era Christian Death. Regular readers may remember how badly I slagged off cEvin's last release (the abysmal Music For Cats) and with good reason. I don't know if it's Paris' influence or if he just got a clue, but this release is everything that "Cats" was not. Intelligent, engaging and highly listenable experimental electronics abound here, and while the beats come thick and heavy, dancing to this would most likely resemble petite mal seizures. Beginning to end, this album flows smooth and wonderfully from the Throbbing Gristle influenced "323.3 kHz" to the minimalistic, spooky "Centerside". The patented, spastic Download sequences rear their overdone heads here but are fortunately kept more atmospheric as opposed to being the main course. And atmospheric is the best way to describe this -- several pieces sound like soundtracks to a lost Cronenberg movie or noctournal, European car chase backgrounds. In particular "Smack My Birch" and "Acid Clambake" invoke a series of mental images. This is a perfect example of the intelligent techno genre -- music that actually makes one think while being entertained. Here's hoping this is more than a one-time collaboration.

DIGITAL INTERSECT MAGAZINE
Number 3, December 1998

Involution is yet another in the line of several outstanding releases from the Tone Casualties label. Invoultion is the latest project of Paris of Face and Shadow Project, paired with cEvin Key of Download and Skinny Puppy fame. I must admit that this CD didn't immediately draw my interest upon first listen. In fact it probably took me a good half dozen or so listens before I really began to appreciate it. It's one of those records that takes a few plays before you can get into it. But now that I've had this CD in my possession for several weeks it has really grown on me.

I've seen Invoultion advertised as though it was a spin off of Christian Death and Skinny Puppy / Download. Paris' name is usually followed by "Christian Death" in parenthesis. I have to question the reasoning behind this because as far as I know Paris was not a major contributor to the ever-popular goth band, although he was involved with Shadow Project, a band of which the late Christian Death founder Rozz Williams was also a member. It's also misleading to suggest Involution is comparable to Christian Death because this album is stylistically far removed from their music. A much better comparison would be his more recent Face project and Key's Download.

THE FRITZ MAGAZINE
VOL. 4 NUMBER 3

Featuring cEvin Key of Skinny Puppy and Paris from Christian Daeth, Involution is a journey into the production of sounds. This isn't really musical, it's more of a sonic collage. It seems fitting that it is on the Tone Casualties label in that respect. If you are into music as texture and experiment, this is great. If you think you can get all gothed out and go writhe to this at the local club, sorry. You could try doing it in your room, but, trust me, you'll look really stupid and have a really hard time of it. This isn't what I'd expect from these two, but then again they always have been ones to challenge convention.

ALTERNATIVE PRESS MAGAZINE
January 1999
Review by Aaron Johnston

Avant-garde electronic music with feeling.

cEvin Key of Skinny Puppy and Download infamy and Paris of Christian Death and EXP fame conjoin at the head to deliver heartfelt electronic soundtracks. If you dialed a phone and accidentally intercepted every other conversationin the world simultaneously, it might sound similar to Involution. This dogpile of a million human voices fighting through barbs of static becomes so muddled it manifests mechanical forms. The few tones that actually make it through sound the stress of computers buckling under the sonic ballast of thick clicks, porous pops and crusty hisses. Involution sculpt melody from noise. The results are no less avant-garde than other leftfielders, but this is certainly more accessible than most experimental synth projects. While Key's love for Autechre is almost too obvious, Involutions tracks are more engaging than recent Autechre material. Hell, with all the candidates considered - p Ziq, Boards of Canada, Bannlust, Xyphax, etc. - Involution are this year's standout electronic collage artist. They harness the abstract beauty of Intelligent Dance Music without sacrificing musical focus. They're still artists conveying a feeling. They're still humans controlling their machines.

BEES KNEES MAGAZINE #10

An interesting collaboration between Paris and cEvin Key, the basic idea of the CD is to make a soundscape of computerized insturments that when put together don't sound like natural insturments, but everyday sounds that are distorted. The sounds go from Blade Runner to Twin Peaks. There is also a keyboard sound that is present in a lot of the recordings to help it all sound as one theme. On some tracks you could even say that it is a trance version of drum and bass. The CD is perfect for those into the soundscape thing, but I prefer the 2 members other efforts better.

ANGRY THOREAUAN
#23 Death issue

Sparse, dark and full of aural shadows, this project is certainly worth all the name-dropping involved regarding the project's members: CHRISTIAN DEATH and SKINNY PUPPY, for instance. The darkness is, not surprisingly, reminiscent of SKINNY PUPPY. The length of the album slightly enfeebles the overall effort, but it nevertheless is damn good mood music for when one wants to avoid vocals and mere techno, for the sounds and spurts present throughout this album are nice when properly applied.

TERRORIZER MAGAZINE
ISSUE #60, Nov. 1998
Review by Damien

Any project put together by Download/Skinny Puppy man cEvin Key as well as Paris (ex-Christian Death) is, by definition, bound to be promising, and with Involution they haven't let us down. Key has ploughed an increasingly de-constructive furrow since Puppy's demise, and there are echoes herein of Download's schizophrenic approach - see "Mow" or "Clairaudience" for example. This is genetically mutated electronica that becomes almost electroacoustic at times, with moods ranging from the haunting to the disturbing and violent. As ever with this sort of music, striking a balance between the creation of interesting timbres and the maintenance of some semblance of conventional listenability is crucial, and in that respect "Involution" is largely successful.