Various

Apparently, this compilation is supposed to be a remix project by various artists of the music by black metal band, Ulver. Without this information on the CD, purely listening to the tunes on its own terms, one might never know. Perhaps remix is a bad phrase; a "response project” would be more apt. The music of Ulver could be a sonic inkblot test wherein the producers reflect more on themselves than the subject matter. Consequently, contributions by Fennesz, Neotropic and Third Eye Foundation on 1st Decade in the Machines sound exactly like material they would make anyway. The influence of Ulver may be ephemeral at best. Or perhaps, it is like late author John Steinbeck said, people like to hear best what they already believe to be true — then the contributors were really hearing themselves in the music of Ulver all along. The only artist on this comp who actually did a remix is Merzbow, an artist who professes a predilection to black metal anyway. On Merzbow’s piece, "Vow Me Ibrzu” one can easily distinguish the influence of Merzbow and the sounds of Ulver. All the other artists are off in their own world. Their tracks are damn good, but it has little to do with Ulver.