Since the mid-90's, 1997EV has been a solo project of a guy calling himself Andre/97Ev. I managed to catch up with Andre, and pick his brain about his recent release on Punch Records titled ?dead.ends.sinful.?
How did this release come about?

?Recording sessions began back in summer 2000 up to early 2001. Then around the end of 2005 , the master was proposed to Punch which encouraged this release. The result is this loop--acoustic 6-suite-track album. The approach to the song has often been improvisational, both musically and lyrically but of course there are other factors like post production and sometimes structure as well, depending on the flame of the moment. Anyway , ?dead.ends.sinful? has more the structure of the cosmic suite instead that of the song.?

What type of instruments were used in this album's creation?

?Instrumentation used is mostly strings plus some keyboards and percussion sporadic incursions that preserved the raw "root" dry ritualist sound atmosphere, to better penetrate the conceptuality behind it which resulted substantially that of the desert/soul... a parallel to another side of deep cosmos and cosmogonies. On a wider parallel basis technology plays perhaps the role of the dead probe of this virtual and surreal desert where the sand is the only voice and presence with traces of ruins left behind.... but of course it's just not only it ... it doesn't necessarily mean we are talking about planet earth or post-planet earth ... it's simply an image.?

So the concept is of an otherworldly presence, that of a possible dark, distant past or future?

?There's perhaps a sort of a resignation feel as well flying here and there, such as the risk of unacceptable revelations etc, but as you see, anyone is its own different frequency antenna or different codecs to filter perceptions and yes, there is a dark mood around which is not necessarily negative ... but multi-dimensional, being even some visionary, it does leave a borderline back to an essence that is unfortunately quite more difficult to be described ... visions live their own existence it becomes easy sometimes to live in a certain kind of "frequency" fast enough to have them give the light pulsing image or sensation. We should start from the beginning maybe ... from atoms or similar inhabitants of the micro-systems but time is dosed and needs be calculated... I could better depict the whole thing as a sunset-like sunrise or a freezed out image caught in time and never there anymore- an inner sci-fi surrealist journey all in all. As for technology or post-technology I don't believe they represent a dark age but an alternative perspective of what another golden age would appear within the cosmic plan ... a catatonic acceptance of the instinctive feel of unaccepting the steps whatever the results shall be.?

The album may be conceptually heavy, but that does not negate the musicality of the disc.

Track one, ?wetsun7? is a rhythmless, dark, textural exercise that serves as a tone setter and leads the listener into the depths of the album. It segues in to ?lucifile eins? which features an acoustic guitar monochord strum and some spoken word, which creates a Syd Barrett meets Jandek feel. The methodical tempo is repeated on the next track ?g-rays violet.? This time, a pounding drum and an electric guitar create a space that monotone vocals occupy. Think early PiL with instrumental Cranes. By the time we reach the sixth and final track, the compositional style has been clearly revealed. Dense, looping parts lay the foundation for atonal synth and guitar noise. The cohesion of the tracks is a strong point and track 5 ?a dark side miracle? features a chorus that breaks into the loop and gives the listener something to look forward to. This is also the only track on the album that has a great crecendo, something much needed in order to propel the work beyond the trappings of repetitous meandering.

?dead.end.sinful? is well recorded and packed in a lovely digipak, giving it a finely finished, futuristic appeal. Hopefully we transcend ourselves (and our technology) before the dire predictions of ?dead.ends.sinful? become reality. 7/10 -- Curt Seiss (7 November, 2007)