Omnempathy / Human Greed News October 2006

[OMNEMPATHY]

Omnempathy Newsletter October 2006

www.omnempathy.com

Hello all, this is Michael from Omnempathy / Human Greed. I just wanted to throw out a few lines letting you know about recent activity before the Scottish winter begins to bite and leaves me frozen and unable to move from my humble home on the top of “Big Hill”

Main news for the summer was, of course, the release of Human Greed’s PILGRIM: New World Homestead. UK release was in June, but due to a daisy chain of errors, botches and – truth be told – a lot of naivety on my part – the international roll out took a little longer.

US press were originally told that release would be in July. However, it transpired that this did not give them enough time with review copies – and so very few US sources actually reviewed it at all! As it turned out Revolver came online to handle US distribution (thank you, thank you, thank you) and the official release date was set for September – but by then the damage was done.

So, very little in the way of press coverage in the States – but the feedback from the rest of the world has been - and continues to be - outstanding. Here’s a few snippets of what the press in Europe – and further afield have been saying…

BoomKat say... "Taking atmospheric, menacing ambience to heady new depths to create an atmosphere which could enswathe the grimmest of David Lynchs filmic output... if you harbour a dark spot for Coil or their contemporaries then you should definitely give Pilgrim a look."

Rock A Rolla say... This is night music, which ripples with your deepest and darkest doubts. Human Greed have managed to conjure up a chilling collection of audio nightmares that calls the listener back again and again to discover more layers of sonic creepiness"

Trinta De Fevereiro say... "Serious and Overwhelming"

Rough Trade say… “Their music is a nightwatch of unconscious activity - Part meditation part agitation; they seemingly torment their urgent and trenchantly schizoid first-person narrative until solitude and isolation becomes the starkest of mantras in the resultant cold comfort… Human Greed set-sail amidst a swell of doubt and looming torrent. As fitting a drama of nervous exploration and discovery, there is wonder and dread in equal measure here: Part dream, part nightmare, Pilgrim’s hypnotic call inevitably lures the listener into treacherous waters before plunging them into fatal depths”

The two awards for “out there” coverage, however, both go to Gaze Into a Gloom. The Babelfish of the Russian language review throws up such stunners as:

"Brain of the enterprise - sullen Begg"

and

"Although if we begin to listen attentively into this quiet horror, soon you understand, that Human Greed those recently named places even somewhere and exceeded on the part of the forcing of verbal horror stories... The frightening sounds, rising to the highest tones, swell in the cerebellum and they return by bad wave somewhere into the region of coccyx."

The second of the two awards goes to Kenji Siratori. The "cult cyberpunk author" also reviewed Pilgrim for GIAG. The review opens; “HUMAN GREED's terror fear cytoplasm gene-dub of the drug fetus of the trash sense to the acidHUMANIX infectious disease archive of the biocapturism nerve cells nightmare-script of a clone boy to the super-genomewarable reptilian HUB. Pilgrim: New World Homestead log-in the mass of flesh-module of the hyperreal HIV scanner form that tera of dogs were debugged to the corpse”

Kenji also approached HG with the idea of a collaboration, and to cut a long story short, we have agreed and so a project called BLACK PAPER is on the stove, as it were. Expect something in mid 2007.

You may have noticed that the Omnempathy forum was pulled. Apologies to those of you who were posting there, but I was getting tired of rooting out spam comments. And, truth be told, there wasn’t enough activity in there to make it feel like a warm place that you’d like to hang out for any length of time – so I locked up the door and threw away the key!

I have, however, been quietly keeping a blog for the past couple of months, and I think I am comfortable enough with the medium and so will be sticking with it. Please feel free to call by and comment on any of my ill-informed ramblings.

http://michaelbegg.blogspot.com

Speaking of all things web2.0 I suppose I should indicate that there are a few myspace profiles associated with Omnempathy now, and you are all more than welcome to “be a friend”…

www.myspace.com/omnempathy

www.myspace.com/humangreed

and, at long last…

www.myspace.com/derykthomas

And, to stick with the estimable Mr. Thomas (I know that more than a few of you are fans) you may like to know about TYP Editions who have recently struck a deal with Deryk to make limited edition – and very high quality – prints of his work available online. Among the limited edition prints on offer are his covers for both Human Greed’s Consolation, and Swans White Light From The Mouth of Infinity.

For more details, visit

www.typeditions.com

Other snippets –

HG have been approached by a collaborative team representing Scottish National Galleries and a couple of the better known theatre companies here in Scotland. The project will involve site specific live work – a first for HG – and a return to the written word for me as I have been asked to provide both libretto and “sound”. I can’t say very much right now, but am happy to show you the work we have been chosen to represent…

http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collections/artist_search.php?objectId=267

Curiously, at the same time as I updated some of our studio equipment and software, it occurred to me that it was going to be much more feasible to consider Human Greed as a “live” proposition, and this theatre work offer appeared. There has also been a degree of “sniffing” from a couple of arts and music festivals that, for the first time, I am not apologetically rejecting right away. I have a feeling, friends, that we may be singing for our supper somewhere near you in the near future.

Last thing to mention is that we have a special offer onsite at the moment where both Consolation and Pilgrim can be purchased as a “Combi” for £23, including postage to wherever you happen to reside in this big old world.

www.omnempathy.com/order.asp

Well, that’s all for now. I hope you are all well and happy.

All Good Things,

Michael @ Omnempathy / Human Greed

www.omnempathy.com