the mover is a project by acardipane, almost around since the beginning of PCP. the first outing was the the "frontal sickness" EP, followed by a second part; then we get the "final sickness" album, the signs of 96, the countdown tracks, as well as the post-PCP follow up, "frontal frustration". also various combined efforts (splits with other artists) and similiar projects. (Editor's note: we got way more The Mover output since this text was written).
the mover is highly praised and adored. among PCP fans, the mover releases are usually seen as special, or rather, the most special ones. the mover is often synonymously used with marc acardipane himself; especially the more sophisticated pcp fans usually call him just "the mover". so, the mover has engraved itself with pcp, and with acardipane.
what is so special about the mover?
stylistically, there is a continuity between tracks - this is basically is all pcp projects, but with the mover it's more visible i think. think of the changes nasty django had in sound in later releases. the mover has a common thread, a common sonic expression. the "countdown trax" on narcotic network recordings is the only release that sounds slightly different; but aswell deeply connected with the mover theme.
so what can be said about the sound?
let us look at the first frontal sickness, which, to me, sets the sound of the mover. even for pcp standard, we get a removed, dislocated sound. the elements have been reduced to a functional, beautiful simplicity. melody created on a synth, a bassdrum, percussion and a bit of FX. that's it. but i think exactly this minimal, reduced approach adds a lot to the wonderful sound of the mover. it is very unlikely the minimalism of other artists; there is, indeed, not much going on in these tracks, at first glance - yet it feels so full, so exciting. it has only the necessary elements - but these elements are the more powerful.
stylistically, the mover is hard to locate, too. this is with all of pcp; but again, even more so with the mover. it sometimes feels like a bit of a missing link between the pre-techno electronic days; the lofi "minimal synth" and EBM sound of the 80s; and the beginning of techno. but it also is reminiscent of the krautrock electronic days; and it reminds me a lot of the earliest electronic and sonic experimentation of the 1950s - or maybe even 1920s. it is out of time and creates its own style. i dare to call it even "techno". maybe electronic poems - yes, this fits.
yet the mover is also an experimental project, as can be seen in the weird electro outings and space synths of the "countdown tracks". experimental techno - at its best.
what sticks out, is that each track is seemingly focused around a single melody; and this is maybe what makes the trademark mover sound. each has a wonderful melody, at which the whole track is seemingly constructed around. again, it's simplistic - seemingly, and repetive - reduced. 4 chords, 8 tones going down and up again. but these melodies are again perfectly effective, and bizarre, enchanting - exotic. i wouldn't even dare to say in which harmonic, tuning system, or even music system, they would be part of.
to write this in words is very hard to do; listen to the tunes themselves, and you will see what i mean when i say that the melodies are a special part of the mover tracks.
one could almost say the mover is the punk rocker of cyborg techno: this is one chord, this is the second; now add the beat and percussion, and go create a mover track[1]!
to finish this text, look at what is most important; the atmosphere of the mover. again, i said it brings up feelings of abstract art experimentation of past decades; but it is also so much in the future. PCP feels so much like space, scifi and the mover is an expression of it; but at a higher dose; a "hardcore" form of it.
the atmosphere is what gives the mover tracks life, and i guess it is why the mover is so popular. a wonderful project, interesting, unique - for the future.
footnotes:
1: related to an old slogan of the 70s new york punk scene.
Info: https://www.discogs.com/artist/4872-The-Mover
Showcase: https://www.mixcloud.com/low_entropy/dj-low-entropy-tribute-to-the-mover-mix/
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