Mincemeat Or Tenspeed

***"No synthesizers, samplers, sequencers, drum machines, computers, musical instruments." Right in the liner notes for Strange Gods, Philadelphia's DAVID HAMMS has turned his methodology into an ideological stance. Using solely effects pedals and a mixer, Harms started MINCEMEAT OR TENSPEED as a recording project that became a live entity in 2006. An initial attempt to learn guitar lead to a deeper interest in effects pedals to the point that the instrument was shunted altogether. The sound of the pedals themselves took precedence and Harms began making rhythmic and melodic adjustments out of a feedback circuit. Labor-intensive trial and error lead to a compositional approach that some mistake for pure improvisation. Strange Gods is an evolution of sorts, letting the tones ride out more than previous efforts, a continuation of a process begun with records like the All Critters 12-inch (Deathbomb Arc), or this year's double CDR Manifest Wizard.