This is the home page for the music and graphics of Alex Smith, who composed and recorded the bulk of this music in various locations all over New York City for the past decade. None of this music has been officially released on a record label. Bloodlust! out of Chicago is now slated to release a first Concrete Womb album, the 8 tracks featured being culled from the 4 unreleased Concrete Womb albums, the first of which was completed in 2002. On the Discography page are links to all 9 full-length recordings, each with one mp3 sample track presented in its entirety. There are 4 projects represented:
1. THE CONCRETE WOMB: brutal, crushing New York City industrial noise inspired by early Swans, Throbbing Gristle, Einsturzende Neubauten, Skinny Puppy, Lydia Lunch's Teenage Jesus, early Sonic Youth, Godflesh, Missing Foundation, SPK, and Whitehouse to name a few. These are primarily rhythm-based tracks that pound at a slow ultra-grind. There are occasional beatless tracks of power-electronics-style industrial white noise. Most songs are instrumental, but a few feature vocals by Alex Smith and Craig Colligan, vocalist for the NYC hate-noise quartet Teen Milk. The Concrete Womb is my primary project, and i have recorded 4 full-length CD's and one EP to date.
2. THE NERVE METER: this is a newer project of more technoid, uptempo industrial rock beats mixed with plutonium-grade hip hop, techno, drum and bass blast beats, thrash metal, glitch electronica, and power electronics. Nine Inch Nails, Foetus, Ministry, Pan Sonic, and Techno Animal are primary influences.
3. ZONE: This is "Dark Ambient"/Experimental music. Somber, menacing, glacially shifting soundscapes and dark, hypnotic, narcotic sonic dreamworlds. Influences are late Swans work and instrumental side projects (The Body Lovers/Haters), Jim Foetus Thirlwell's instrumental work (Steroid Maximus, Manorexia), early Sonic Youth, Neubauten, Coil, and Main. Instrumentation mixes heavy and trance-inducing drones culled from synthesizers, industrial electro-acoustics, power-electronics.modern classical orchestrations influenced by Ligeti, Penderecki, Xenakis and Stockhausen, Peter Gabriel's soundtrack work, and various world musics.
4. POD: "Micro-beat" glitch electronica culled from influences such as Coil, Autechre, Kid 606, Matmos, Richard Devine, and Carsten Nicolai/Alva Noto. Tracks are beat-centered and playful in tone, unlike the doom-sodden character of the other three projects. This project was an experiment and the experiment is ongoing. The first full-length CD, entitled, "Blips, Bleeps, Clicks and Creaks" is complete and a second (working title "Increments" is in the works. This stuff sounds like R2D2 on crack.
Latest posting: May 2, 2011
The debut CD by The Concrete Womb is set to be released (date to be announced) by the independant record label Bloodlust! out of Chicago. See the links page for info. The album is an 8-song CDR entitled "Human Slavery" and features The Concrete Womb's earliest, heaviest material.
Music by Alex Smith is featured in the new film "We Are All Cylons" by Ilana Rein. This film is an exploration of A.I, rapidly advancing tech, identity slippage, and the fan phenomenon generated by the popular science fiction television series "Battlestar Galactica". "We Are All Cylons" recently premiered in London and is set to show in New York, Baltimore, and Detroit. You can find out more about the film at www.ilanarein.net
ZONE
Scapes CD
Elements CD
THE CONCRETE WOMB
Life CD
Nihilator CD
Generator CD
Internment EP (CD)
POD
Blips, Bleeps,
Clicks and Creaks CD
Increments CD
(in progress)
THE NERVE METER
Device CD
Antagonism CD
THE CONCRETE WOMB: GENERATOR CD
TOTAL RECORDING TIME: 76:08
1. PUNISHMENT (4:03)
2. SUFFOCATION CHAMBER (6:57)
3. IRONSIDES (4:49)
4. BARRIER (6:59)
5. BLOCKAGE (4:21)
6. GENERATOR (5:11)
7. NULL SET 1 (5:25)
8. BULWARK (7:08)
9. GLUT (4:08)
10. BRAINWAVES (3:59)
11. PROGRESS (3:31)
12. NULL SET 2 (3:50)
13. HEAVINESS (4:51)
14. UNDERBELLY (6:37)
15. SEDIMENT (4:25)
THE CONCRETE WOMB: NIHILATOR CD
TOTAL RECORDING TIME: 77:37
1. THE SYSTEM (3:26)
2. TRAWLER (4:53)
3. RETROPULSION (5:35)
4. DEAD WEIGHT (4:56)
5. BRACE (4:31)
6. WRECKAGE (6:12)
7. FUEL (4:26)
8. BOTTOM FEEDER (3:36)
9. STASIS (6:35)
10. DREDGING (3:27)
11. MECHANICA (4:26)
12. LOST (4:03)
13. NULL (9:51)
14. BLAST FURNACE (3:36)
15. MASTODON (3:19)
16. A GRAVE (4:52)
THE CONCRETE WOMB: INTERNMENT EP (CD)
TOTAL RECORDING TIME: (33:46)
1. DAMN YOU TO HELL (5:04)
2. MARCH OF THE SLAVES (5:17)
3. CRUSHED BY GOD (8:19)
4. OBSCENE (5:39)
5. BARRICADE (6:59)
6. REPULSION (2:31)
THE CONCRETE WOMB: LIFE CD
TRACK LISTING. TOTAL RECORDING TIME: 73:05
1. SLAVE (6:10)
2. CRAWLING (8:07)
3. THE GRINDER (6:26)
4. LABOR (3:11)
5. BEHEMOTH (6:59)
6. GRIP (3:53)
7. THE CONCRETE WOMB (7:45)
8. FILTER (6:05)
9. BRUTE (7:07)
10. WASTE (4:17)
11. BLUDGEON (3:38)
12. FASCIST (5:01)
13. SUCTION GHETTO (4:32)
ZONE:SCAPES CD
TOTAL RECORDING TIME: (76:08)
1. CATHEXIS (15:08)
2. INCUBATE (7:15)
3. DARK MATTER (9:39)
4. UNDERCURRENT (11:50)
5. SEWER (8:03)
6. METAMORPHOSIS (10:46)
7. SUBTERRANEA (13:32)
ZONE: ELEMENTS CD
TOTAL RECORDING TIME: (69:20)
1. TERRA FIRMA (9:46)
2. THE SOULLESS LIGHT (9:41)
3. BONECLOCK (6:44)
4. CELLAR (5:55)
5. SEDATION (8:14)
6. CRUCIBLE (5:48)
7. NAMELESS (5:41)
8. CTHONIA (7:56)
9. POSSESSION (for Antonin Artaud): (9:39)
THE NERVE METER: DEVICE CD
TOTAL RECORDING TIME: 69:29)
1. STALKER (5:21)
2. SUSTAIN (5:11)
3. REGIMENT (3:18)
4. ALIEN DNA (5:36)
5. NOTHING (3:32)
6. THE DIE SONG (4:53)
7. AGGRAVATE (4:19)
8. ICE (5:10)
9. TACTICAL (3:49)
10. MODULE (3:34)
11. ABORT (3:14)
12. ANOMIE (7:15)
13. ISOLATE (5:01)
14. ZONED (5:16)
15. ANAESTHETIC (4:08)
THE NERVE METER: ANTAGONISM CD
1. SEIZURE (6:59)
2. THE NERVE METER (7:00)
3. RACHET (6:04)
4. BODY HATRED (4:51)
5. DEPTH CHARGE (4:08)
6. PISTON (4:02)
7. PULSE (2:45)
8. PRESSUREHEAD (5:19)
9. EXTRACTOR (6:34)
10. LOW (6:37)
11. SIDEWINDER (3:37)
12. FUSE (4:14)
13. MUTATOR (4:39)
14. SPLINTER (4:09)
15. REFRIGERATION (1:46)
Bloodlust! is an independant record label based in Chicago. Founded by Mark Solotroff, frontman of the power-electronics outfit Bloodyminded (and formerly of NYC's Intrinsic Action), it has a full online, recorded and live presence. Bloodlust! will be releasing the first Concrete Womb CD-R, date TBA. Here is the label info:
BloodLust!
Post Office Box 6091
Chicago, IL 60680-6091
http://bloodlust.blogspot.com
YANA DJIN is a critically acclaimed, published poetess/writer residing in New York City. Her website, which features current and past poems and essays, can be found at:
http://yanadjin.blogspot.com
MARC SLOAN is the bassist for Elliott Sharp's Carbon, his own progressive rock outfit Gawk, and '80's NYC punk band Ritual Tension. His current electro-acoustic ambient project is called Trees of Nerve Endings and can be found here:
http://www.treesofnerveendings.com
You can contact me at
asmithtcw_hotmail.com
POD: BLIPS, BLEEPS, CLICKS AND CREAKS CD
1. FIDGET
2. SQUISHINESS
3. PARTICLE JIG
4. THING
5. FIDDLESTICKS
6. P-BRANE
7. EXERCISE
8. ULTRAMICROSCOPY
9. LINK
10. SNAKE
11. FRITTER
12. PODLING
13. WHAT
14. PETRI PARTY
15. QUIRK
16. ANEMONE SHUFFLE
©2011 ConcreteMusic - All Rights Reserved
all graphics: Alex Smith
