Carl Kavorkian makes some of the most ferocious, experimental Noise-Rap music I've ever heard and (not) surprisingly, he's one of the nicest, most hospitable people I've ever met working in "the music industry." Case in point: my buddy Omarey and I went into South Philly one Friday night back in June for The Sh*thawks, Felipe Pupo, MANIK|NETER, Planet 88, and King Ani Mal's show at The Pharmacy. We grabbed a pizza back in Jersey and were pretty much on time for the show, although, Felipe Pupo frontman and show organizer Erik "E." Grizzly was messaging me on the way in; Erik mentioned he thought the set times were running a bit earlier than expected and Carl Kavorkian's MANIK|NETER was likely going on early. Now, while I was excited for all five bands on the bill, I was most excited to see MANIK|NETER and was looking forward to seeing his infamous executioner's mask-covered set! Once Omarey and I got into South Philly, we soon found parking near the venue and started walking to The Pharmacy. After an unexpected 10-block detour, we ended up at the venue a little later than expected and needless to say, we unfortunately missed Carl Kavorkian's opening MANIK|NETER set and made it just in time for Felipe Pupo. Not only did we get to hang out with E. Grizzly and Carl—who graciously insisted on paying my $5 cover charge—we even bumped into Quinn AKA Riff Quantum from Darko The Super-affiliated THE STATIC BROTHERS.


MANIK|NETER's premier Mannequin Eater EP has been characteristically described by Carl Kavorkian himself with these four simple, yet incredibly fitting, words: "Loud. Abrasive. Mental. Music." I would describe MANIK|NETER's unique Noise-Rap style as the hypothetical missing linkage between Nine Inch Nails, Linkin Park, and Aggro-Rap group Death Grips. Kavorkian has described his latest side-project as being strongly influenced and inspired by like-minded Noise-makers Sleep Beggar, Noise Lock, STATIC BROTHERS, Moor Mother, and Death Grips. I think it would be fair to say Carl Kavorkian has always been a little more "left-field" and "Experimental," even dating as far back as his 2002 debut Earbleeders, which is even tagged on Bandcamp as "progressive hip-hop," "alternative hip-hop," and "noise rap." Carl Kavorkian has either cooked up music with or performed alongside the likes of DOOM, Kool Keith, Tame One, Pumpkinhead, PackFM, Masai Bey, Breez Evahflowin', and MC Paul Barman. In addition to his standard canon of albums, Carl Kavorkian has released volumes 1-3.14 of Uglyass Music containing remixes, left-overs, alternate cuts, etc. from throughout his discography. Just this past week, Kavorkian quietly unleashed the first single from MANIK|NETER's upcoming TBA AKA EP2; "Cocoon" is now available on Cult Member Music's Bandcamp page on a Name-Your-Price basis, as well as his previous Mannequin Eater EP. MANIK|NETER's next shows will be tomorrow night, Saturday Sept. 23rd at Lancaster AVenue Autonomous (LAVA) Space with Downtrodder, Spirits & Disappearances and October 28-29th at Century Bar for Noise-centric festival, Oktober Hexfest. Tickets are currently still available for both events.