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Fragment king
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History 
Edit
Fragment king (or "fk") is the audio performance alter ego of M.Kammerbauer. Extreme emotion and extreme absence of emotion are parts of a dichotomy of expression present in fk's work. At times highly confrontational and at times soothing, fk uses the widest possible range of instrumentation: from primitive animal instinct to academic discourse, from guitars to computers, from the human body to the body of space. Fk has played live in the USA and Europe and has produced various vinyl and CDr/CD releases from 1999 to the present, in addition to remixes and compilation tracks.
M.Kammerbauer has recorded music in various constellations since 1992 and performed live since 1997. With fk, guitars, digital sounds and electronics and human voice are combined. Fk began as the continuation of freejazz-grindcore band "New Leadership" - with electronic and digital means, but with the aesthetic of heavy guitars constantly in mind. After a first vinyl appearance in 1999 and beginning of live actions in 2001, fk's sound began to consolidate with the limited Nexialist Halforganic release of the LIVE AT SI cassette tape in 2002 and the SIMPLE THINGS ARE OFTEN MONSTROUS split vinyl release with Nexicon. In continuation, fk employed guitars, bass guitars, vocals and software on the largely unreleased "Pathomechanical" and "Anatomic" session recordings throughout 2003 and 2004 and the critically acclaimed GREY ALBUM in 2005. Between 2007 and 2009 fk has recorded and produced a new album titled ANGEL POSITION, which will however remain unreleased. Despite the withholding of the official album, fans can listen to variant and demo versions of ANGEL POSITION songs on fk's myspace page.
Fk used different sets of equipment and instruments in 3 distinct manifestations. In the 1st manifestation (1997-1999), fk started with a PC/Soundcard combination ("early" 1st manifestation) and included synthesizers and samplers ("mature" 1st manifestation: Yamaha, Oberheim, Akai S2000) and, on a few tracks and more in an experimental manner, bass guitar and vocals. The 2nd manifestation (2000-2003) set in after moving to the USA in 2000 and founding the Nexialist Organisation. Recording continued with a PC laptop, samplers, synthesizers, and a growing set of effects gear, plus electric guitar, bass guitar, and vocals. The "early" 2nd manifestation can be seen as a transitional phase (between 1st and "mature" 2nd) and relies heavily on the Yamaha TX7 synthesizer in combination with guitar distortion effects, creating a "pseudo-heavy metal" sound that is exemplified on the LIVE AT SI recordings. Most material then was recorded to an Akai HD Recorder ("the tank") as a stereo master. The original Pathomechanical sessions ("mature" 2nd manifestation) were created at this time, as well as all Nexicon collaboration sessions. After relocating to Germany (3rd manifestation: 2003-2007), the new set-up was based around Apple Macintosh hardware in combination with Protools hard- and software while including the bass guitar from the 1st manifestation and the effects gear from the 2nd manifestation as well as vocals. This manifestation documents the full transformation into the "one-man-band" configuration while live sets were still divided in to laptop ("early" 3rd manifestation: Powerbook) driven from 2004 to 2005 up to the latter-day live performances with bass guitar/vocals ("mature" 3rd or "total" manifestation of fk).
Fk collaborated with NTT/Navicon Torture Technologies, z’ev, Alexandra von Bolz’n, Spastic Dementia/Marcelo Aguirre, Ambassador21, and Nicolaas Deiker. Fk has shared the stage with Bazooka, Herbst9, Hyperdriver, Edgey, Klangstabil, Synapscape, and many more.
Influences Edit
The music created by fk is inspired by a number of factors. Firstly, the concept of "song" (with its structured narrative) is a major focus, as opposed to the concept of "track" (with its continuous progression). For this reason, much of fk's material is "song"-driven, and the characteristics of the "track" (continuity, timelessness, repetition) are used to juxtapose the traditional "song" elements to heighten the drama of the narrative. This schismogenetic structural approach is clearly rooted in classical Industrial music (i.e. Throbbing Gristle, Swans). In terms of morphology, fk's main influences are heavy to ultra-heavy guitar music, especially the aesthetics of low tuneage as first employed by seminal British Grindcore/Deathmetal band Carcass. This guitar aesthetic has been prevalent from the very beginnings of fk and exemplified by the use of the Yamaha TX7 in connection with guitar distortion effects (creating an ultra-sharp "pseudo-guitar" sound) and the use of effects in combination to produce the fk bass guitar sound of the "final" manifestation. Another clear and distinct inspiration is the combination of electronic beats and guitars, of which the most important actors were Big Black and Godflesh.
In fk's 1st manifestation, electronic acts that employed song structures were a very direct influence, such as Autechre, Meat Beat Manifesto, IDM before 2000 and "Techstep" Drum n Bass before 1998. This structural "clarity" in fk's songwriting received a major break during the 2nd manifestation. During this time, fk began to collaborate with NTT within the Nexicon project and became exposed to the "session" method of improvisation. The improvisation method became a core component of fk's creative process, employed live and in the studio. This was also driven by the desire to find truly "live" applications of electronic and digital sound devices. The exposure to the sound of NTT and also Australian Swans/Godflesh worshippers HALO became an inspiration for fk to liberate himself from the dictate of the song and of "clean" audio production. At this time, fk became critical in both structure and aesthetics and understood himself as a counter-design to affirmative genres such as "jazzy" Drum n Bass, anything remotely folksy, "consolation rock", as well as ironic/"silly" tendencies and "childish" high-pitched vocals within Digital Hardcore and Breakcore. During this phase, especially the work of Morton Feldman became influential for fk.
Vocals are used as an "instrument" and in this sense the treatment of vocals in Ambient/Dark Ambient/Power Electronics is interesting to fk, rather than the gurgling/screeching of Death Metal, although not paradigmatic, but because of the internal coherence of the fk sound. Overall, the range of inspirations leads to the creation of a sound that is based in electronic/digital drum sounds, Death Metal derived guitar/bass guitar aesthetics, and Power Electronics derived vocal aesthetics.
Critique Edit
"The official debut release of this American artist brings us to a dangerous border. This is a very restricted noise area where heavy breakbeats and other nervous percussions have been merged with noise and industrial. It sounds like pure chaos while the enraged screams only accentuate the punk-like style of this release! Minimal noise chaos!" (Side-Line Magazine, on GREY ALBUM)
"Basis are always fat groovy beats in combination with massively distorted guitars and deeply rolling bass in addition to parolelike screamed text messages, which could be described as a mix of Power Electronics and Drone Doom with aggressive backgrounds, produced by Kammerbauer in an enormously dense and fat manner. Godflesh on even more drugs? More than that – Grey Album makes you sweat, evokes anger, releases force, in the controlled songs with slower pace as well as in the angry, fast noise machines, in which the Fragment King has incorporated almost insane energy eruptions in a pretty defragmented way. (Thomas Sonder, Orkus Magazine, on GREY ALBUM)
"Do you remember the early Godflesh or Scorn releases, where guitars were roaring and throats were bleeding? Well, Mark Kammerbauer dug a lot the innovation of those two bands because some years after that explosion of rage he took that spirit, melting it with some elements of power noise and breakcore just to form his project Fragment King. (...) I don’t know how Fragment King was sounding on his early releases but the ten tracks of GREY ALBUM convinced me immediately with that dark grinding guitars and with that treated voice that seems starving for more razorblades." (Chain DLK Magazine, on GREY ALBUM)
"L’industriel le plus lourd rencontre des guitares plombees tres crades, un chant desespere hurle du fin fond d’une cellule poisseuse, une batterie resonant comme un AK-47 (...) Beton, metal et camisole pour imager cette oeuvre qui ne nous a pas laisses indifferents; original et quasiment inedit depuis la mort de GODFLESH.” (Elegy Magazine, on GREY ALBUM)
"Joy for all friends of the noisy postdrumandbassnirvana. 2 tracks by fragment king, who loads and towers destroyed bassdrums and screeching breaks in front of him, digs and probes the heap as if it were the innards of a heavy metal sauce for gourmets, who love to gobble up fresh roasted tiniti for breakfast and on the flipside two tracks by nexicon, which sound a lot more like broken machinery than breaks or beats. this is no fast silly funny broken music, but honest and righteous terror with fragments of slime and digital gall." (Bleed, De-Bug Magazine, on nex 010)
Releases Edit
1999 Cities and Seasons (Deiker Records) 12" Vinyl
2001 Live At SI (nexialist) MC Cassette
2002 Vivisections (Architecture Records) 3" CDr
2003 Simple Things Are Often Monstrous(nexialist) 12" Vinyl
2005 GREY ALBUM (Invasion Wreck Chords) CDr
2006 vs. Ambassador21: Good Morning W. (Invasion Wreck Chords) CDr
2009 Pathomechanical Studies (nexialist innumerable) File
2009 Anatomic Music (nexialist innumerable) File
2009 Structural Music (nexialist innumerable) File
Remixes Edit
2002 Obduktionssaal (Pneumatic Detach)
2003 What You Want feat. Leech (Inofficial Godflesh Tribute Compilation)
2004 Cervical Neuropathology (Ambassador21)
2005 Faceman Schismogenesis (A-Team TV Soundtrack Compilation)
2007 Atlas Shrugged (Talvekoidik)
2009 Gumrot - Decaying Face Edit (NTT)
Remixed Edit
2002 Slugbreeder (N.Deiker Remix)
2007 Emperor Slug (Klangstabil + Torben Wendt Remix)
Live Actions Edit
13/09/2008 collaboration w/ z‘ev, alexandra von bolz‘n, spastic dementia**
30/03/2007 elektroanschlag 8*
09/12/2005 prague xi. industrial festival*
30/07/2005 special nexialist performance kloster oehningen
19/03/2005 resistance festival london
17/03/2005 hyperdriver vs. fragment king at radio resonance fm london
11/03/2005 sick & twisted club london uk with dj bazooka
27/09/2004 resistance festival bratislava*
11/07/2004 munich w/ peter haimerl [an a2 architekturwoche event]*
05/02/2004 fluc vienna noisecamp
02/19/2003 nexialist @ barreled/subtonic, nyc fragment king & nexicon
02/13/2003 wfmu radio [advanced d&d] hosted by donna summer*
10/11/2002 nexialist exposition 2002 @ ibo’s, vilsbiburg, germany [w/ n.deiker, plusminus0, iron nedim]*
09/24/2002 nexialist exposition 2002 @ openair, nyc [w/ n.deiker]*
08/01/2002 fragment king versus ntt: we are nexicon
05/11/2002 with klangstabil, ntt, industrial fest providence*
05/09/2002 with klangstabil & ntt, pyramid, nyc
04/25/2002 ucla los angeles
01/20/2002 antiflow long island
12/11/2001 the point gallery nyc
12/06/2001 brooklyn level x
09/06/2001 brooklyn si*
07/12/1997 acud berlin*
(**) - a live video of this performance is available via youtube
(*) - live audio of these performances is available via archive.org
