Multimedia artist Mark Williams returns with his experimental techno project Bary Center. The West Virginia-based musician and videographer has a new self-directed video for the track “Demented Daydream” off his newest effort Almost Heaven out last week on the label Jacktone Records. Always prolific, we last heard from Bary Center in April when Williams released another self-directed video for the track “Think Again” off his Dystopia is for Lovers LP.
Williams started his Bary Center project back in 2011 while living in Lexington, KY. Informed by his time spent playing in punk, noise, and electronic acts while living in Asheville, North Carolina in the early 2000s, he also ran a monthly zine and cassette label while booking national touring acts for the local scene. The artist’s love for tapes and techno led him to start his Bary Center project using a Tascam 4-track recorder and since those early days he has expanded his home studio to include “analog gear from pawn shops and thrift stores.”
Almost Heaven is Bary Center’s nineteenth official release for the project. Recorded at his home studio during the winter of 2018/19, the 8-track effort is Williams first for Jacktone Records. “Demented Daydream” combines eery, industrial tones with tightly coiled techno, and though darkly hued, its’ kinetic qualities are undeniable. The visuals play off that aspect of the track using “found footage” of disco dancers, but Williams treatment of these images renders them into abstracted forms that swirl and pulse with neon color.
