Written and Recorded by:
MCIAHEL Baptista Benedict
&
Mitchell Blase Settecase

Michael Benedict, aka Miguel Baptista Benedict, is an experimental artist from Chicago. He was signed to Flying Lotus's award-winning label Brainfeeder back in 2010, and had a release called Super(b)-Child-Ran in 2013. Since then, Benedict has been releasing music independently as to avoid the bureaucracy of the mainstream music industry. And, one of those ways to get his music to listeners is, of course, through this review provided by Divide and Conquer. Lamprophonic Fringe Culture was written and recorded at Wicker Park in Chicago, with the help of fellow musician/producer/Chicagoan, Mitch Blase Settecase. The album is a lot more straightforward compared to Benedict’s other work, according to the artist, and it deals with the concepts of defeat, death and never being alive. Benedict also put out three recent releases this year – Lamprophonic Fringe Culture was originally out in November of 2019. If you enjoy experimental music and wonder at the awe of how complex and rich music can get these days, I think you’re going to like what you hear.

The opener “Sneaky Sammy” starts of in a free form sort of way. Drums have a jazzy feel and synths are heavy, with orchestral layering. Makes me think what would have happened if the Cure went this route, opposed to the moping Goth stuff they did early on. Fuzzy, distorted backing tracks add more texture, along with various percussion and an underlining bass melody. The song gets deeper further in – you’ll just have to give it a go. The first track melts into “Poor Cameron” a slow moving, trippy atmospheric tune, with great sounding drums, pipe organ keys and other twists and turns along the way. There are some vocal embellishments in here too, with plenty of experimentation. You could really get caught up in this stuff, make believing you’re in another dimension – that’s the vibe I’m feeling.

On “Peter Lived” Benedict adds somewhat more distinguishable vocals and a mound of distortion and effects - just a bit on the industrial/electronica side with this tune, but still keeping in line with the experimental genre. “Fiber Glass” begins with some fuzzy, TV/Arcade game-like sounds and a gentle keys and drums intro. There’s a definite randomness to this track, with no concrete rhythm to speak of, apart from the guitar chords playing. If you’re dozing off or distracted, you may be jumping for a bit at about the two-and-a-half-minute mark – at least I was! Benedict’s most free-form, artsy number on the album in my opinion. This song transitions into “Drapetomania” a track with a plethora of sounds and textures, drum fills, random keys playing and other electronic stuff. Perhaps with all the chaotic and layered sounds, this number reflects Benedict’s defeat concept I spoke about earlier.

“Crown Chakra” gave me a creepy vibe. It sounds to me like a vocal mic track was recorded through some muffled effects pedal. Then – bam! – a high level energy journey, with what I can only describe as cicadas conversing in the background. Perhaps don’t listen to this one if you’re on a bad trip or are in solitary confinement of some kind. Ending the short album is “Nine July” a tune that seems a bit more drum focused, or at least has more beat/rhythm experimentation to it. Adding to this, is guitar, some celestial spacey sounding keys, fuzzy effects, and under all that, more retro arcade game stuff – Centipede, Asteroidsand Defender come to mind.

​Overall, I’d say Lamprophonic Fringe Culture is on the fringe of experimental music – and I mean that in a good way. It never ceases to amaze me how “outside the lines” an artist can really get. Benedict’s work pushes the boundaries ‘til there are none.

-Divide & Conquer Music Magazine