Diamond Terrifier Cipher is the brainchild of Sam Hillmer, a NYC impresario responsible for countless mind-bending evenings, leading the Zs charge, and bridging saxophone and electronics solo incarnations under the moniker Diamond Terrifier. Hillmer’s new bandit crew, the Cipher, assembles four global- and generational-spanning tricksters: the scene’s best kept secret, Michael Beharie, on guitar, synths and effects; Cibo Matto co-founder, Miho Hatori, on vocals; and studio wizard / guitar deviant, Don Devore, of Collapsing Scenery.
The Cipher spent the past two years improvising, jamming, and melting throughout New York’s venues before settling into Don’s studio to record four conjurings for their self-titled debut, Chapel Master. The titular track haunts by a thin buzz of Sam’s horn before collapsing in aggressive elegance. “Not Lit”, DTC’s chill warning to all promoters in NYC, leads ominously before submerging into a hypnotic orchestra of synths and sounds of unknown origins. “Art is War” and “Action Fortress” play like twin dirges threaded with ghostly vocal samples.
Cipher maestro Hillmer fingerprints the EP with echoes of free-jazz and drone, conducting space for Miho’s alien vocals, Beharie’s textures and Don’s riffs to birth a distinct, warped, New York now-wave recording resistant to any singular form. Chapel Master rules a place of impermanence made quantifiable for the first time care of Styles Upon Styles.
Styles Upon Styles will present Chapel Master in vinyl and digital formats on October 6th and 13th, 2017, respectively. The vinyl version will include four remixes from our friends at PTP.
Dim the lights for this harrowing journey into eerie experimental electronic music full of minor-key synths and skittering beats. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 24, 2023
The Bristol duo's debut smashes together acid beats, punishing hardcore, and harsh now into songs that are deliberately overwhelming and intense. Bandcamp Album of the Day Apr 28, 2022