Prolific sound artist Blake Edwards, also known as Vertonen, created this album from the sounds of various machines in factories throughout Illinois. This is industrial in its most literal sense. The track titles indicate which machines are being heard, including half ton presses, belt systems, feeders, circulation and ventilation feeds, generators, vents, engines (diesel and gas), and a shredding facility. The tracks are all between five and ten minutes, and they tend do just do the processes listed repetitively for their durations. As expected, some of the tracks do feature a bit of an incidental rhythm, the type you might catch yourself nodding your head to while you’re doing your laundry or something. Other times, it just sounds like a bunch of big heavy droning machines, which is what it is. When played as background sound, this album gets pretty easy to tune out, especially if you’re used to living in the city. The most jarring parts of the album actually end up being the gaps in between the tracks, because most of them don’t fade out or segue into the next track, they just stop cold. Listen closely, however, and there’s some interesting subtle things happening, such as the slowly shifting sound in the background of “Iron Works Fabrication Facility”, the slowing-down motor sounds of “Half Ton Presses, Molding, Drill Press, Diesel Engine”, and the background humming in “Recycling Facility”. Plus I always enjoy a good shredding noise.
