Martin Bowes and John Costello have both performed experiments in sound for over 30 years; Martin with Attrition and John mostly under his own name. Together they have concocted an atypical mix of minimal wave, body music, soundtrack tonalities and lush melodies, bound with washes of dark electronics.
In 2018 a wheel turns full circle and a partnership forged 22 years ago is finally fulfilled.
Back in 1996 the original version of What Am I? was released in demo form on US label Silber Records compilation, Alleviation.
In 2013 the project was consolidated with a remodelled version of What Am I? c/w the compelling atmospherics of Law of Betrayal and Hi Teikei No.
In 2015 the next single arrived and Karl Marx was given a new platform on the electro dancefloor. ‘Leninism, Stalinism, Revolution…’ An 80’s influenced political marriage of minimal synth wave and dark electronic rhythms & textures. ‘Invasion, Infiltration, Intimidation…’
“A crisply chilling political observation…” Hot Music Live
Various limited edition releases on vinyl and CD compilations followed hard on its heels and now after all these years comes Das Kapital, the debut full length album, and soon the first ever live shows…
ENGRAM defies easy categorization. It is a synthesis of two very different personalities thinking in unison; it contains many surprises, few rules and no fixed poles, posing questions but withholding answers.
“If H. R. Giger would have been a musician instead of a painter, this is the music he would have composed…”
Produced by Martin Bowes & John Costello
Mixed and Mastered by Martin Bowes at The Cage Studios, Coventry, England. 2013 – 2018
Cover image by Rainer Ganahl
https://engrammusik.bandcamp.com