Tristes Tropiques

GULBENKOGLU, AREK - Of Cruelty

Edition of 77. “Arek Gulbenkoglu and I were sat for dinner having ordered the same meal, discussing its merit.
Its an expected conversation in such moments, but one at odds with the musical output of the
man sitting opposite me. The sound of Arek Gulbenkoglu defies anything remotely aligned with
the notion of expected. Having just met the man at a friendly dinner, I wondered how appropriate
it would be to assail him with questions inspired by many years of trying to absorb his output.
Then, after reflecting on these questions, it became apparent there was only one.
“Through a mouthful of cooling fries, I found the gumption to ask, “Whats the point of what you
do?” The question wasnt intended to cause offense; rather it was an attempt to gain insight into a
seemingly confusing sound world. Arek thought about this for a moment before replying, “I
respond to the world. The world gets the sound it deserves”. This answer surprised me. I was
immediately reminded of German filmmaker, Jörg Buttgereit who, when asked to defend the films
he made, simply replied, “society gets the films it deserves”. Arek Gulbenkoglu is a man who
creates in quiet response, rather than a provocateur like Buttgereit, but his response is no less
brutal and unapologetic.
“of cruelty could be considered a continuation as much as Gulbenkoglus oeuvre can constitute such
a concept. The interaction of shimmering tones on A foregrounding makes a mockery of the
beauty typically suggested by shimmering. When the spasmodic electronic chirps give way to a
thick wall of absence in Innards, the only joy one can feel while listening is in the tracks decision
to give you none. This theme reaches its apogee in Haste where, using primitive dance music
conceits, Gulbenkoglu forbids rhythm and groove, creating instead a loaded stasis – a dance floor
of the nearly-dancing.
“By the time the final track, Consequences reaches its conclusion, ones head has already been
scratched into flakes – the questions so many they become white noise. I am reminded of my first
dinner with Arek where I received the answer to a question I had been asking since Points Alone
[Impermanent, 2005] and realise, no matter how many answers he gives me, I will likely never stop
asking the same question.” – Matthew Revert.
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After nearly a decade of false starts, multiple game plans veering off the rails, and a handful of shattered hopes and/or dreams, the odyssey is finally complete—the new Fusetron site is here.

This is the first phase of a multipart rollout that will span the next few months: the currently browsable stock includes miscellaneous new releases from the past 8+ months (we have a lot of catching up to do), plus approximately a third of our backstock. Note that we’ve reduced/slashed prices on many titles and will continue to do so in order to make room for new stock. We’ll also be expanding / tweaking / improving / debugging the site itself (for example, we still have work to do on the automated international postage system, not to mention the inevitable inventory discrepancies that come with transferring an ancient and massive database to a new system).

Over the next few months, as we take inventory, clean house, and delve into our storage, we will be uploading thousands of additional items, gradually, on a near-daily basis. This will include the majority of the LPs, as well as many titles, in all formats, once thought long-gone. Many currently “sold out” items are likely to resurface.

Finally, once our general backstock is up (probably in the next two or three months) we’ll begin making our extensive stockpile of rarities available online for the first time: tons of random out-of-print titles, "deadstock," warehouse finds, secondhand collectibles, etc., accumulated over the past few decades.

Frequent/returning customers will be getting early access to these items. Details to follow on how this will work (a priority mailing list? a 'frequent flyer'-like program?), but it will not be based on dollars spent. We want to reward those who consistently support us, especially in the discogs marketplace era (to those who show up trying to poach five copies of a one-off rarity, and nothing else, ever… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ).

So—we suggest you take some time to dig through the site—even we’ve been surprised by what’s been turning up, and there’s much more to come.
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