Hypnoskull

A project by Patrick Stevens, a Belgian musician who was at the origins of the modern rhythm'n'noise scene. Patrick started making music in the early nineties, his first project was called Ectoplasmic Embryo Experience and had a certain notoriety in the Belgian and German industrial underground. In 1993, Patrick joined Sonar - the cult project of Dirk Ivens (Dive), which basically laid the foundations of powernoise as a style. Concurrently, Patrick was creating his own music as Hypnoskull, but the project did not go beyond a narrow circle of enthusiasts-collectors of homemade tapes and other such rarities. The first serious album of the project, titled Rhythmusmaschine Eins-Zwei, was released in 1998 by what is perhaps the most iconic rhythm-noise German label, Ant-Zen, long since becoming an object of reverence for fans of hard rhythms worldwide. The album was warmly received by listeners who highly appreciated the simple yet truly effective sound constructions of the newly baked project. It was followed by 'Ffwd>Burnout!' (1999) and 'Electronic Music Means War To Us' (2001), which finally formed the recognizable style of early Hypnoskull – a combination of the power of purely analog electronics with rough rhythmic structures, resulting in an anarchic push of noise-techno-industrial. The name of the project reflects its concept – hypnotic raw and monotonous rhythms directed straight into the listener's skull. Hypnoskull's music explores the influences produced by the technologies driving humanity into madness on human consciousness. The artist himself defines his work as "urban electronic industrial," a kind of soundtrack for life in a big city, for its most stressful and complex moments. Hypnoskull is music for those who understand that the glossy image imposed on people by the media system is far from reality, who know the dark side of existence in a metropolis, its darkest places and hidden corners, who are not afraid to explore the dark manifestations of mental activity in large human agglomerations. Recently, Patrick has been fascinated by breakcore and drum and bass, which is especially evident in his recent album ''Panik Mekanik,'' which essentially redefines the format boundaries of the rhythm’n’noise style. By introducing not only elements of the aforementioned styles but also techniques from trip-hop and even ambient, Patrick creates sound spaces that characterize him as a mature artist who has transcended any specific genre and freely operates any instruments to express his thoughts and ideas. Although not all old fans of the project received the album with understanding, critics unanimously described it as the best from Hypnoskull. Currently, the concert program of the project mainly consists of new material, but in Moscow, Patrick will showcase (for the only time this year) a special program mostly consisting of old hits. The Russian audience will get a unique opportunity to see this legendary program and feel the full power and drive that Hypnoskull's concerts are renowned for, when blood boils in your veins from an excess of pure adrenaline.