[image: High Mayhem] High Mayhem Emerging Arts http://highmayhem.org/ *iNK oN pAPER digital album release: GET IT NOW! * http://highmayhem.org/downloads Drum ‘n’ Bass Mayhem By Peter Breslin
From the core of the surprisingly varied Santa Fe, New Mexico scene with one focal point at High Mayhem Emerging Arts, iNK oN pAPER’s Milton Villarrubia III and Carlos Santistevan strip down, mash up and rumble their way through a menu of trim, focused duets on their debut CD as a duo. As if drum ‘n’ bass took a detour through an electro-acoustic free-punk Jucifer and had its downbeats addled or partly removed, the pieces hint at chaos while slyly adhering to subtle, unexpected structures. Villarrubia’s drum sound is both crisp and fat, with murkier timbres and startling digital effects peppered by snaps, crackles and pops. Santistevan’s snarling, subterranean electric bass is sometimes also suddenly whimsical, clean and conversationally melodic. The minimalist, raw immediacy of the sound, captured meticulously by the highly nuanced, high quality recording, alternates refreshingly with dense washes of sculptured sound.
The proceedings for iNK oN pAPER’s debut CD (available as a download from CDBaby, as well as download dropcards available through High Mayhem) have a no bones start with _17 Hits_, precisely what the title indicates: 17 unison, staccato, non-metrical slams, followed by a densely meandering series of improvisations, with the 17 hits returning periodically as a spine to hold the beast together. Many of the pieces are enigmatically named after locations or streets, such as _Cedar St._, featuring ominous rolls and electronic effects from Villarrubia III’s toms and buzz saw low end ululations from Santistevan. The odd meter _Sid-mars_ features a sinewy 31-beat line that is deceptively straightforward and some Alan Silva-style plaintive bow work from Santistevan. In general, the duo mixes a fierce willingness to take improvisational risks with surprising compositional elements, both in arrangement of the duets and in reoccurring composed themes. _Salt A&B_ is another example of the tension between prearranged themes, this time a wandering street-beat influenced 5 count from Villarrubia III, over-layered by aggressive phrases from Santistevan’s bowed bass. The duo’s music stays engaging and surprising not only by mixing composed themes with improvised excursions in fine balance, but also through the brevity of the individual tracks, with no title logging in at more than 5:30. In this way, each piece is a distinct entity, with its own flavor and distinctive ground rules. Though leaving room for roiling and grungy buzz and explosive gestures, each piece ultimately has the feel of a self-contained composition. The sense is that there is a game afoot, with Santistevan and Villarrubia III volleying suggestions back and forth, ultimately charging to each piece’s logical finish. iNK oN pAPER is an example of what underground presenting and producing organizations like High Mayhem do best: provide a home for artists and musicians whose commitment is to forms not embraced by the marketplace. High Mayhem’s varied, uncompromising and adventurous catalog suggests a newly emerging world of possibilities, with iNK oN pAPER carrying the message and the mayhem gloriously.