Downwards Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Surgeon and Regis have been collaborating as British Murder Boys for decades, though in recent times it's tended to take the form of occasional live performances. Like their previous album, 2014's "Live In Tokyo", "Fire In The Still Air" is a non-stop recording of a live performance - in this case one that formed part of Berlin's Atonal Festival last August. It's a thrilling and largely breathless excursion; a non-stop, 51-minute ride in which Surgeon handles beats and electronics, and Regis processed sounds and growling, gravel-voiced vocals. The duo's techno credentials shine through, of course, but it's their industrial and EBM inspirations that come to the fore throughout. For much of the set, they come across like an updated, techno-propelled re-incarnation of early '80s Cabaret Voltaire, and that's not a bad thing at all.