Conkuss - Childish Lessons

Hear The Track Here

To look at me now, you wouldn't know that I used to be what is referred to as normal: I had friends, I had a life, damn I even had sex (once or twice). My story, however, has a very familiar ring to it. See, I'm one of those people who - as your Mum will patiently explain to you should you give her the slightest excuse - 'fell in with the wrong crowd'. They were a rum lot, to be sure, but we had some great times but like everything things change and so after a while we all moved on elsewhere. The really terrifying snippet of news for you, o nervous reader, is that most of us moved to MP3 Unsigned! People like Slippy T, Spyda, Ffabbia, Paradise Decay, Co-Exist, Xanthe, Dave (Mezzer) Meredith, are all part of that particular 'back in the day'. However, an essential element to that long lost scene had been missing for some time earlier. The name that rings down the ages since that long lost time shall be Conkuss.

Yep, tremble o mortals and all that old bollocks. The man, the leg end.

At the time I didn't know him that well (I was moderating the forum, I was a bit busy) but when I finally listened to some of his music I discovered a rare and remarkable talent. The guy was either barking mad or a genius. Still, as an indication of how impressed I was, I even bought one of his CD's and still play it from time to time. I've said from time to time that an artist like Conkuss should have his own genre because for sure there couldn't be many of these about. However, the only actual review I can dig up for him is on the wonderfully titled The Man Downstairs Is About To Speak And Its Bad News (July 2003) a superbly produced, dark as a nun's tit slice of mayhem that would knock even the most jaded cynic a-rocking. So obviously - after three years - Conkuss finally surfaces again with a track (nay a fekkin magnum opus!) that would tax the patience of a saint...

So far, so Conkuss...

One of the main reasons it would tax etc... is because it's damn long (16+minutes), it's a track that was inspired by bullying and an ultimate death. Conkuss claims that he's 'dark electronica, cheaply made' and I'd say there was an element of truth to that. Soundwise, the proverbial butt of bear comparison I normally employ here fails miserably and goes off for an early bath sulking. Leaving me wondering just how the fekk I can accurately describe what this track is - and what it's not. For sure, it is probably the hardest listen I've had in a long time; a harsh, abrasive, knife-edge of sound that torments, intimidates and terrifies in equal measure. It is a sound bully, carrying out exactly the same moves bullies do and - in that respect - Conkuss has nailed a sonic experience akin to nothing I have ever heard before. If I wanted to pick holes, Conkuss has provided me plenty of ammo but that isn't - I believe - what this track is about. It's about a cathartic process rendered into sound and fury and - in my books - that is special indeed. OK, not nice, I'll admit but God there is a power and fury in this track that leaves me breathless and that - I suspect - is the point.

A singular track from a singular artist. Be prepared for shock and awe though OK?