Greensboro-based noise artist BAPTIZER employs a take-no-prisoners approach to his art form. This could be said of a fair share of so-called noise artists, some of whom seem to think that grating noises and extreme volume are all it takes. Baptizer does not fall into this category. His music is quite often grating and almost always loud, but never for its own sake. This is music with a purpose and a philosophy, and it stands head-and-shoulders above much of the crowd.
(Disclaimer - Baptizer is a friend of mine, and we have performed and recorded together in the past. This is pretty much inevitable in the small and collaboration-minded noise community. The first track of this EP incorporates some of a live performance where Baptizer was joined by Brian John Mitchell on synthesizer and theremin, and myself playing a set of discarded box springs with an electric drill.)
While Baptizer's brilliant 2012 full-length album "Signs of Apocalypse" grabbed the listener by the throat in the opening moments, this EP's opener, "Separate", takes a subtler, more gradual approach. It is a rather frightening journey, like a freight train carrying souls to concentration camps. The background sounds could be screams of torment. Cold and subtly terrifying.
"Resist" does not relent. There is a rich tapestry of sound here that might seem repellent but has a kind of beauty to it, layered and deliberate. The feedback in the last third sounds like human voices. Tortured voices. Fighting, rioting in the distance. Resisting.
The final piece, "Survive", is a slow evolution of dense electronic sound. More discomforting than terrifying. Perhaps that is as close to peace as we'll get after separating and resisting, to survive in what's left of the world. "Survive" morphs slowly and hypnotically over 15 minutes, gradually changing so the listener almost doesn't notice. By the last section, the tapestry has become all white noise and shredded electronics.
Despite the abrasive nature of the music, it is carefully constructed with a lot of attention to detail. I find myself listening through the overall sound to discern the elements within. Most music that is (superficially) like this does not bear repeated listening like Baptizer's music does. If I go a long time without listening to something by Baptizer, it often sounds like I'm hearing it for the first time when I play it again. I'm always hearing something different than the last time. This is rare, and very rewarding.
Above all things, it's the sense of purpose that sets Baptizer apart. This is intangible and difficult to explain, but Baptizer's music sounds like it NEEDS to exist. Many of us make "noise" music out of a fascination with sound, and there is nothing wrong with that. Baptizer, however, makes his music because he has to. Something inside compels him, and this urgency is evident in the sound. (Even if I can't explain why it is so evident. You simply recognize it when you hear it.)
And clearly, Baptizer's music is driven by a philosophy. His music does not explain his philosophy, but it permeates the work. The song titles - "Separate", "Resist", "Survive" - are clues. Keeping the titles in mind while listening to the music will color your interpretation, the sounds working to reinforce the hidden ideas suggested by the titles.
Baptizer is part of a subset of overtly Christian noise artists, a category that I only recently learned existed. In Christian rock, the art form is eviscerated of its soul and turned into bland, platitude-spewing pablum. In the Christian set of the noise community, the opposite seems to be the case. Theirs is some of the most urgent, driven, and confrontational music and performance art in the scene. (Check out a live show by Baptizer or Clang Quartet for an experience you will not soon forget.)
It is the driving forces of philosophical and personal imperatives that make the "Separate/Resist/Survive" EP so compelling and worthy of repeat listening. If you have the appetite (and stomach) for harsh, passionate noise, it doesn't get any better than Baptizer.
