SPLINTERED – MORAINE (CD by Fourth Dimension) *
ERIK HONORÉ – UNREST (CD by Hubro Music)
KIM MYHR – YOU/ME (CD by Hubro Music)
NILS ØKLAND BAND – LYSNING (CD by Hubro Music)
CE FRANCOIS COUTURE – MISCOMMUNICATION (CD by Cuchabata Records)
CE FRANCOIS COUTURE – ACCORDS ET DÉSACCHORDS (CD by Cuchabata Records)
TANDAAPUSHI – BORROMEAN RINGS (CD by Jvtland)
THE REMOTE VIEWERS – LAST MAN IN EUROPE (CD by The Remote Viewers)
DOMINIC LASH & SETH COOKE – EGREGORE (CD by Intonema) *
ILIA BELORUKOV & MIGUEL A. GARCIA & JASON KAHN & FRANTZ LORIOT – INVANSKRUE (CD by
Intonema) *
NIHILTRONIX – HOMESONGS (CD by La Nouvelle Alliance/OPN) *
BOGUSLAW SCHAEFFER – TRAVEL NOTES (CD by Bolt Records) *
MILOSZ PEKALA – MONOPERCUSSION (CD by Bolt Records) *
MUSIQUETRTE – IMPROVISATIONS ON GORECKI (CD by Bolt Records) *
ALESSANDRO BOSETTI – THE NOTEBOOKS (CD by Bolt Records) *
MARCO QUARESIMIN – SONDES (CD by Un Reve Nu) *
TRUUS DE GROOT – LINEALITY (CDR by Dewclaw Ditties) *
MARTIJN HOHMANN – YUNUS (3”CDR, private) *
MATHIAS DELPLANQUE – TEMOINS (cassette by Cronica Electronica)
TARAB & ARTIFICIAL MEMORY TRACE – OBEX (cassette by Cronica Electronica)
SPLINTERED – MORAINE (CD by Fourth Dimension)
Somewhere in the back of my mind I thought it was only recently that I reviewed ‘Turned Inside Out’, a
double CD collection of Splintered’s ‘demos, singles, B-sides and unreleased material’, but it turns out
to be Vital Weekly 900, say September 2013. Back then I rambled a bit about playing all my CDs again,
which I actually did, well, give or take a few, which included the various other Splintered releases I
have. ‘Moraine’ is a work by them I never heard before. It was only released on LP by Suggestion
Records in cooperation with No Risk No Fun in 1996 and now, not really a twentieth anniversary, a
reissue on CD. Splintered was a rock band, consisting of Colin Bradley, Stuart Carter, Paul Dudeney,
Richard Johnson, James Machin, Sion Orgon, Steve Pittis and Paul Wright (at least on this record,
membership was always flexible, I think). Between them they use guitars, drums, feedback, vocals,
Theremin, bass, sampler, piano but on this Machin brings also a saxophone along and there is quite
some use of sounds from DATs (among them Jim O’Rourke’s DAT only release ‘Use’). Splintered
combines the rock bang of the core instruments rock bands have, with feedback, noise and powered
up aggression, especially on the psycho-kraut-noise of ‘Humayun’, which is as powerful as any
Skullflower piece. But there is more to the two long pieces that back then made up side A and B of the
record. If I understand correctly this is made from sessions they recorded more or less improvising in
the studio and they also use the studio to treat the material a bit further and not purely to register a
bunch of boys making noise. Slipping these field recordings and snippets of radio sounds, or adding
sound effects (more, more) to specific elements to certain elements, or overdubbing different
instruments (I am guessing here, but maybe saxophone and piano were added later on?) they arrive
at a sound that is loud but clear. Splintered sounds like an orchestra hammering away in the studio,
almost like a Bruckner symphony (to avoid the more known, less liked, Wagner); a massive amount
of sound, especially in ‘Humayun’. In the opening ‘Flagellum Dei’ the sound is opener for a longer
time, with sparse piano sounds and the band fooling around before half way through going into full
rock modus.
Many of the band members back then had their solo projects and kept working on together in
different combinations (as Theme for instance, see Vital Weekly 1104) and Steve Pittis already worked
as Band Of Pain, and here is the only one to use the studio material for a five minute remix at the end
(why not any of the others I wondered), taking the material apart in a very fine Nurse With Wound
styled sound collage, opening different alleys of voice work, reversed and different speeds for drums
and it’s fine collage of sound, and a nice coda after all the noise from the forty previous minutes. (FdW)
––– Address: http://fourthdimensionrecords.bigcartel.com/
ERIK HONORÉ – UNREST (CD by Hubro Music)
KIM MYHR – YOU/ME (CD by Hubro Music)
NILS ØKLAND BAND – LYSNING (CD by Hubro Music)
Honoré deals in ambient music. Of a kind that starts from ambient structures, but develops a bit
towards song format, or jazz influenced textures. For his new release ‘Unrest’ he is assisted by
numerous musicians like Arve Henriksen, Jan Bang, a.o. Special mentioning deserves Sidsel Endresen
who sings in three of the eight tracks that make up this album. Here we come most close to the song
format. Honoré composed all the tracks with help from the musicians. ‘Surge’ the opening track
reminded me of the work by Brian Eno. Honoré is also interested in (live) sampling combined with
improvisation. Honoré paints his ambient textures with a very fine pencil. He makes detailed and
well-balanced constructions, which are very state of the art. Often ambient music like this is on the
edge in me perception. By definition ambient-based music is of a comforting character. It is not about
confronting and raising questions, and so it should not be judged from this perspective. It is music
that becomes uncomfortable by being too comfortable. A matter of taste of course and it’s my never-
ending personal battle with ambient music.
The Nils Økland Band plays a folk-induced instrumental music that also moves towards ambient-
like textures. The Hardanger fiddle with its outspoken sound fulfils a dominant role. Økland plays
several different ones, plus viola d’amore and violin. It’s interesting (and a joy) to hear the differences
in sound and colour between these instruments. All music is by Okland but developed and arranged
in collaboration with the other musicians involved: Rolf-Erik Nystrom (alto and baritone sax), Sigbjorn
Apeland (harmonium), Hakon Moch Stene (percussion, vibraphone, electric guitar) and Mats Eilertsen
(double bass). It is their first for Hubro Music and fits 100% in the catalogue of this label. Earlier Nils
Økland released for ECM and Rune Grammofon. He is one of those masters on the Hardanger fiddle,
who do not stay within the borders of traditional Norwegian music, but mixes it respectfully with
contemporary idioms of jazz, ambient, etc. The melodic lines that are played often remind me of folk
music as well as the playing technique by Økland. The interplay is excellent and very together. This
is a beautifully textured, very transparent and arranged production, which makes it possible to taste
every minor change in sound and colour.
If I had to call one of these three albums experimental or innovative it would be the one by Kim
Myr. He offers two long extended instrumental compositions on his new solo album. Myr plays electric
and acoustic guitars plus electronics. He is assisted by three percussionists: Tony Buck (!) on drums
and percussion, Ingar Zach playing snares, percussion and electronics and Hans Hulbaekmo doing
hand percussion. The first work centres around the endless strumming by Myr on multi-layered guitars
that progresses with minimal changes. Interventions through percussion and electronics give a
different context to this strumming. On the cover of the album is a nice photo of the sea supplying
rolling water as a metaphor for what we hear: an unpretentious flow of sounds that go on endlessly.
One could say this can’t be interesting music. But in some mysterious way it is and it is a play with
expectations. It fascinates for the same reason as early minimal music does, or the hypnotic trance-
jazz by the Necks. (DM)
––– Address: http://hubromusic.com/
CE FRANCOIS COUTURE – MISCOMMUNICATION (CD by Cuchabata Records)
CE FRANCOIS COUTURE – ACCORDS ET DÉSACCHORDS (CD by Cuchabata Records)
Two new releases by sympathetic weirdo – ex journalist – Francois Couture from Montréal. Both
released on the Cuchabata label also from Montréal and run by David Dugas Dion. He defined three
criteria the label stands for: spontaneity, taste for experiment and a DIY work ethic. The work of
Couture scores high on all these three principles. One album has an English title, the other one a
French title. Here communication begins. Why this one with a French title, and the other one in
English? Why not the other way around, or both in French, etc. Well, Couture will have his reasons.
I keep good memories to his album ‘Spam me’ where he set spam emails to songs. The title
‘Miscommunication’ suggests it is a follow up inspired by the same theme: implications of
miscommunication. Couture is a politically engaged artist, who is worried about the (mis-)use of
communication in politics. His expressive work makes clear that we are dealing with a free anarchistic
and musical spirit. Both works have a central role for the vocals by Couture. On ‘Miscommunication’
for example, ‘Chant Song’ is a multi-tracked vocal piece, almost a mini-opera. The intro of ‘Aphasia’
called ‘Good morning Mr.S. how are you’, starts as a Présent-like art rock piece of work, dominated by
keyboards and is a pulsating and rhythm-dominated work. ‘Birds and bees and Bears’ on the other
hands is a free and open collage-like track. The album closes with the spooky piece ‘Not him’, composed
one day after Trump’s election. With manipulated screaming and crying, Couture evokes a nightmare
coming true. All instruments on this album are played by Couture himself, except for a guitar solo in
their opening track that is played by Guillaume Cloutier, who is also on the following album: ‘Accords
et Désaccords’. This one is something different. It is a collection of 17 short duo-improvisations. All
have Couture doing vocals, assisted by Guillaume Cloutier (classical guitar), David Dugas Dion (12-
string guitar) and Alex Pelchat (acoustic guitar). With each of them Couture did one day of recordings
in 2016-2017. Both Cloutier and Dugas Dion are member of Le Forêt Rouge, as is Couture himself.
Pelchat is an active force in the free/punk/doom scene of Montréal. All three play acoustic guitar but
use to play electric guitars normally. Couture limits himself to non-verbal singing, screaming, howling,
etc. Sometimes sounding like a throat singing Mongolian. Songs result from free improvising, in
contrast with ‘Miscommunication’ where everything is composed. Demented songs, engaging psycho-
dramas. Music with substance, relevance and not to forget: humour. (DM)
––– Address: https://cuchabatarecords.bandcamp.com/
TANDAAPUSHI – BORROMEAN RINGS (CD by Jvtland)
An electric power trio from Belgium comprised of Léo Dupleix (pianet, electric piano, amplified objects,
no input mixing board), Laurens Smet (bass, acoustic guitar) and Louis Evrard (drums, electric guitar,
drum machine). They make their second statement with this album. Just like their debut recording,
‘Fire Disposal’ (2015), released by the Danish label Jvtland, run by Martin Vognsen. Again they search
their way in post-rock territories. It is a short work with six tracks taking 32 minutes. Paradoxically
the music makes the impression of being very long extended in time. This is due to the minimalistic
approach: the repeating of patterns by drums and keyboards endlessly without much happening. But
this is not where this music is about. If you wait for something to happen, it will bore you. Better listen
unintentionally and let it happen. Titles of the respective tracks are: ‘Introduction’, ‘Part 1’, ‘Interlude
1’, ‘Part 2’, ‘Interlude 2’, and ‘Finale’, suggesting we deal in fact with one composition or work.
Although there is a lot of energy in this music, it is not leading to a climax, but just a rhythm-based
linear extension in time. Moving steady with a groove. But not one that invites you to dance. In a way
the music suggest the impossibility of movement. It is as if the musicians have imprisoned themselves
in their own dark and heavy grooves and patterns. Only in ‘Finale’ there is a curious hint for
melody. (DM)
––– Address: http://www.jvtlandt.com/
THE REMOTE VIEWERS – LAST MAN IN EUROPE (CD by The Remote Viewers)
The Remote Viewers started in 1997 as a sax-trio of Louise Petts, David Petts and Adrian Northover.
This initiative proved to be a very stable and fruitful one over the years. In their 20 years existence,
The Remote Viewers produced about 14 CDs in various line-ups, and as far as I know them, all of a
constant high quality. On their newest release Louise Petts as well as other key members are absent.
Only David Petts and Adrian Northover are involved in this new statement. They know each other
from B-Shops of the Poor, a group that ceased to exist around 1997. Key member of this group however
was also John Edwards, who joins the Remote Viewers-party every now and then. So we are speaking
of a trio this time with Edwards playing acoustic bass, and a reunion of musicians who know each other
from the old days. They play eleven pieces. Seven of them are composed by Petts. The other ones were
shaped through collective improvisation. Everything was recorded on one day at Red Shed Studios.
Saxes and bass make a strong unit. Not surprising as these musicians have a history with one other.
It is a joy to listen to the playing and interventions by Edwards. He does a nice solo for example in the
title piece. The music has a clear sound spectrum and is to a high degree composed along strict lines.
The playing is disciplined and focused, delivering intense moments. As ever The Remote Viewers have
their unique balance between jazz and composed chamber music. Over the years they developed a
very recognizable aesthetic, what makes them a relevant and consistent voice in the world of
contemporary music. With ‘Last Man in Europe’ as the latest proof. (DM)
––– Address: http://www.theremoteviewers.com/
DOMINIC LASH & SETH COOKE – EGREGORE (CD by Intonema)
ILIA BELORUKOV & MIGUEL A. GARCIA & JASON KAHN & FRANTZ LORIOT – INVANSKRUE (CD by
Intonema)
Two discs of radical improvised music by a bunch of players, some of whom have been reviewed quite
a bit before in these pages. Perhaps not so much in the case of Lash and Cooke, but interestingly enough
twice before with music they did together (see Vital Weekly 961 and 996). Before Lash played the
double bass on these releases, but now switched to electronics, whereas Cooke is still on cymbals and
electronics. Although it is one piece on the CD, and seeing this is improvised music, it is perhaps curious
to notice that the music is recorded on two different locations and a year apart. It makes you wonder
what happened there. Maybe this disc contains two recordings that are overlaid, as it seems not easy to
detect a point in here where recordings are cross-faded. This is a very minimal work, maybe not as
overlaid then as I thought, of very slow moving tones. Do I hear a cymbal in here? Not really. Maybe
there is some sort of electrical device in play here that sets the cymbal in some kind of motion, providing
some kind of overtone back drop that goes along with the very minimally played rest of the sounds. It is
almost impossible to say what is going on here. Some kind of lo-fi drone of a very static nature maybe
times two or three, and which are mixed with great care. A fade from one sound to the next might take
easily ten or so minutes, but by then you could believe things have in fact changed. I call this radical
music for exactly that reason of minimalist changes. There are some nasty piercing frequencies in here,
which one should handle with some care. For me this music worked best when I played it all at a
relatively modest volume; not because I thought it was too radical but it simply seemed to work best
for me at a lower volume.
The other release is a quartet recording made on December 17, 2016 in Zurich, including label
boss Ilia Belorukov (fluteophone, contact microphone, effect pedals, iVCS3, samples and field recordings)
along with Miguel A. Garcia (laptop, electronics), Jason Kahn (drums) and Frantz Loriot (viola). The first
three are certainly names that have been mentioned more than a couple of times in these pages.
Perhaps the thing most noteworthy is the fact that Kahn plays drums on these recordings, something
we haven’t seen him doing in a long time. The improvisations on these two lengthy pieces aren’t as
radical as those on the other release by Intonema, but perhaps also not as conventional as some of the
others that we review. There is a fine dialogue going on here between acoustic instruments (viola,
drums, flute) playing more broken up bits and pieces and more electronic components, providing a
somewhat more continuous, almost drone like sounds; and of course these things start to mingle, with
electronics breaking up and viola’s playing a more on-going sound. Now here one should turn up the
volume a bit and discover all that goes below the surface, and a world of sound starts showing up. Lots
of small sounds appear only then, adding more delicate layers to the music. Excellent! (FdW)
––– Address: http://www.intonema.org
NIHILTRONIX – HOMESONGS (CD by La Nouvelle Alliance/OPN)
A name like NihilTronix suggests, perhaps, harsh noise, a total absence of ideas, amplified to the hilt. It
doesn’t, as far as I would think, mean ‘a band’, with people on “bass, guitar, percussions, heavyvox, flûte,
collage.magnetic.prayers, screams, scrams”, as mentioned on the information, but it is so. Six musicians
in total are a member of NihilTronix, and it also reads “celebrating 20 years of indie music, we’re very
pleased to support this brand new release from a kult french act!!! As usual, expect no more than
Nihilistic music for Nihilistic people” (which actually reminded of Dutch noise act Odal and one of his
early labels). Maybe the whole term ‘nihilism’ is something that is not well-understood, or ridiculed
by Walter Sobchak and his “who’s The Fucking Nihilist Here! What Are You, A Bunch Of Fucking
Crybabies?” (You are out of your element, FdW). I would say that if you have food, drink and a shelter
and let everybody get on without interfering with anybody else, a life without meaning or purpose is
quite alright. Music certainly would be an added value and gives life more meaning (or joy) and
reviewing something to do. Well, maybe NihilTronix isn’t quite the Nihilists then? Listening to the
fourteen pieces on this release, I must say there is not a lot of nihilism in terms of music. It is pretty
standard dark-wavish music, based around a rhythm machine and bass, a bit of distorted guitar and
a voice beyond the grave, all topped with a bit of distortion in the electronic department. I am not the
sort of person to dissect lyrics and explain what they mean, so as far as I am concerned it could be
anything. The most remarkable thing here is the lack of mastering. It seems like a bag of recordings
from various stages of their twenty years of existence, with a lot of differences in volume, but according
to the cover it is all recordings from last year. That is most odd and certainly something could have
been gained there. You might have guessed already: this is not really the sort of thing I particularly
like or think is something that Vital Weekly particularly good in covering. (FdW)
––– Address: http://opnrecords.bandcamp.com
BOGUSLAW SCHAEFFER – TRAVEL NOTES (CD by Bolt Records)
MILOSZ PEKALA – MONOPERCUSSION (CD by Bolt Records)
MUSIQUETRTE – IMPROVISATIONS ON GORECKI (CD by Bolt Records)
ALESSANDRO BOSETTI – THE NOTEBOOKS (CD by Bolt Records)
A round of serious music here, and it starts with the most classical recording, in terms of this being the
oldest. The five pieces of electronic music on ‘Travel Notes’ were all recorded in the seventies, a fertile
period for this Polish composer (no relation to Pierre I should think) who also composed a whole bunch
of works for orchestras, chamber pieces and piano. All of these electronic pieces were recorded/
completed outside Warsaw and without the Polish electronic studios, but in Belgrade, Cracow, Berlin
and Stockholm, so perhaps that’s where the title comes from? In the booklet there is a detailed
description of each of these pieces. Schaeffer worked with some beautiful by now ancient pieces of
equipment and he is to have said that he composes music for himself and “music does not communicate
any content. Apart from itself. That is music talks about music, not, God forbid, about the composer’s
feelings about which we should not be curious”. That is a stance I like very much and perhaps a very
postmodern thing. But why would I care how he felt when he composed this? Would it make the music
any better, or worse? I think a listener is very capable of thinking something himself. Everybody has
his or her own interpretation, and thus, maybe a review is anyway superfluous. Well, except of course
to inform the reader about the availability and in more or less dry terms what this is about. Dry is
perhaps also the word one could apply to the music of Schaeffer. Dry sounds generated on ancient
synthesizers, or the transformed female voice in ‘Poetries’ as a starting point, stuck together on
magnetic tape and mixed for his own pleasure is what this music all about. It is up to you to travel
along with the composer and discover sounds that you didn’t hear before; or perhaps you did, and
you are well versed in the world of new music, in which case this music will be like a warm bath. I
thought this was a pretty fine release, both from a historical perspective as well pure pleasure of
hearing.
Going to ‘now’ with music composed by various people and performed by percussion player Milosz
Pekala. I have no idea what the scores looked like, but apparently they were asked to write something
for one instrument only, such as Chinese cymbal, the frame drum, vibraphone etc., but Pekala also uses
electronics, in order to expand the capacities of acoustic instruments. From the names of the composers
I only recognized the name of Felix Kubin and was surprised to see him listed; I had no idea he was into
composing pieces such as this. I have no idea what kind of electronics are used in these pieces but
surely some kind of real-time procession, perhaps, so I was merely guessing, something along the lines
of Ableton Live or max/msp. Sometimes his percussion is hardly recognizable, such as the triangle in
’Squares’, covered as it is with electronic sounds of a more digital origin. It makes not only this piece,
but also the other pieces much more than ‘just’ pieces of percussion music. The whole electronic
component adds an excellent extra dynamic layer to the music, bringing this close to home of more
serious electronic music, but not in pure transformation terms. It is more like ‘percussion & tape’
music as it is called in more academic circles. Also in some of the titles one sees this background, such
as ‘Sequenza 1’ or ’Squares’. Pekala plays some very vibrant music; sometimes verging on the edge of
noise (in ‘Sequenza 1’ for instance), with some great unleashing of energy (in ’Speedcore’, which s
ounds surprisingly ‘percussion only’, but maybe it is far from) and the result is an excellent release.
Then we get slowly sucked into the world of modern music via Musiquette, a musical project by
Evan Ziporyn (clarinet, bass clarinet). You may (or may not) know his name from the Bang On A Can
ensemble but here works with Adrien Lambient (trombone), Mikolaj Palosz (cello), Kuba Sokolowski
(piano) and Kamil Szuszkiewicz (trumpet), and here they work with the music of Gorecki, the guy
whose music is largely forgotten except for his third Symphony, which is one of the much loved pieces
of the 20th century, and even I can’t deny the impact it had on me when I first heard. If you don’t know
it, go out and have a listen. […] So now you are back you should realize this work by Musiquette is
something completely different. It is all about an interpretation of Gorecki pieces, but as remembered,
not as played from a score. It has very little to do with the Gorecki everybody knows and it is a wild
ride of improvised small ensemble, chaotic, strange, wild, energetic but also quiet and introspective
(such as in ‘Lark’) and it sometimes reminded me of free jazz. I must admit I played this with a keen
ear on hearing something different but at the same time I also realized it wasn’t all for me. I liked
some of the quieter moments on this disc while some of the wilder moments were not for me.
In the parental house where I grew up we had an upright piano, sporting a picture of Antonin
Dvorak and his wife and daughters (and original one actually my father once got from Dvorak’s
daughter in law) and one from another Czech composer, Leos Janacek on the beach in The Netherlands,
noting the musical sounds of waves washing a shore. My father loved that picture and when his son
was into ‘strange music’ he would reminded him that Janacek at least knew how to compose with that.
You can imagine that I would have loved to have my father review the new Alessandro Bosetti CD as it
deals with the notebooks of Janacek. As with much of Bosetti’s work he uses something, for instance
Janacek’s notebooks, as the starting point for his own work. Using the notebooks and the notes in there
are used in a new composition, along with the words also jotted down. Janacek lived in a time when
recording technology was still in his infancy (he died in 1928) yet he preferred the old fashioned way
of noting sounds on paper but of course now it not easy figure what it is about. One problem for Bosetti
is that he doesn’t speak any of the Czech language, so he has somebody helping him on the proper way
of pronunciation, and everything is recorded but now in the way we would understand the word
‘recording’. Bosetti also uses sounds that he recorded that are noted, such as bees and cows. All of this
is combined into an excellent piece of radio dramatic proportions. It moves all over the place and isn’t
a story as such, but more sound poetry and field recordings mixed together but it sounds very good.
At close to thirty-six minutes it would be enough for me. Yet there is a second piece, ‘Dante & Beatrice:
The Notebooks, Part 2’, which is more a traditional Bosetti piece of him singing (at times) with his
falsetto voice, a bit of electronics (processing his voice maybe) and it’s about Dante and Beatrice, but
somehow I am a bit lost what or if this has anything to do with the music of Leos Janacek (not that well-
versed myself of course, unlike that dear departed daddy). It follows a similar pattern, but effectively
seems also a variation of that piece. It is not bad but perhaps it’s not necessary to play both in one go
(which of course goes for a lot of releases, I should add). Great first piece; that much I am sure off. (FdW)
––– Address: http://boltrecords.pl/
MARCO QUARESIMIN – SONDES (CD by Un Reve Nu)
The double bass in improvisation is an instrument that sounds both heavy and dramatic. Marco
Quaresimin from Venice, Italy, is someone who shows this clearly on his solo CD ’Sondes’. Quaresimin
played with local jazz musicians in Italy and in 2010 he moved to Paris to study jazz and improvised
music and is active in the Parisian scene with ‘minimalist trance trio Tripes’, jazz quintet Healing Unit
and working with dance, theatre and cinema. Solo his interest lies in exploring the relationship between
space, movement and sound, and that is shown in the two lengthy pieces that make up ’Sonde’. By
playing long form notes most of the time he explores minimally gestures, which wander off into your
own space. In ’Sonde I’ there are various sections, ranging from a single, repeated stroke on the strings
to short continuous stroke and a plucked section; sometimes I thought there was additional electronics
as other sound events seemed to be happening, or maybe Quaresimin has more hands (providing it was
recorded live, which I think it is) but that seems more or less a hallucination. In ’Sonde II’, based on his
first solo composition from 2011, Quaresimin plays the instrument with quite some fierce attack,
bending the bow on the strings, growing with quite some intensity, let the scraping grow and then
going on like a madman on the strings, almost, so it seems but no less another hallucination, as if
Quaresimin wants to destroy his precious double bass. I believe ‘con furioso’ is what they call playing
like this. I have no preference for either piece. They are quite different from each other, but they sound
equally quite captivating. If this is the sum that makes up the parts, then I believe Quaresimin has
some interesting varied parts on his bow. (FdW)
––– Address: http://unrevenu.fr
TRUUS DE GROOT – LINEALITY (CDR by Dewclaw Ditties)
Following her collaborative work with Intigue Taluure (see Vital Weekly 1111), here is something
new by Truus de Groot. I believe she divides her work between her own name and Plus Instruments
when it comes to doing something more ‘pop’ like (for the lack of a better word) and something more
’sound scape’ like (again for the lack of a better word). For the latter she uses her own name, and Plus
Instruments when employing sequencers, drum machines and synthesizers. I quite enjoy the work of
the latter, and of the first I think I simply didn’t hear a lot. The thing that springs to mind is the work
she did with Bosko Hrnjak, ’Salton Sink Vol.1: Salton Sea’ (see Vital Weekly 814), which was more field
recordings, voice and making up a fine radio play and her ’Surrealist Ball’ (see Vital Weekly), which for
all I know could have been as Plus Instruments, but which was a bit gentler, I guess. On ‘Lineality’ she
placed all her electronic gear as listed on the cover (Sonus Injecto, Triomne, Boka Box, Drone Box,
Crackle Synthesizer, EMS VCS Putney, Moog Opus 3 and Korg MS 20 mini) on a table and started to
fiddle around with. Some of these machines you know, and some you don’t, as they “co-designed by
Bosko Hrnjak and built by Dr. Moonstien”. She recorded six pieces, which, give or take a few seconds,
last eleven minutes. On her website Truus describes what her intention is with this: “This brain
stimulating music is from another dimension, it is ideal to create art by, cook, write, meditate, go about
your business or excellent driving music to make the world just a little more interesting.” Of course the
reviewer has to cook and write but perhaps also concentrate a bit on the music, but sometimes I decide
to sit back and continue to read today’s newspaper. De Groot chooses her title well, I think. Her pieces
move in a strict linear fashion. She works with a bunch of sounds, at the same time and they keep
playing, while she changes very minimally some parameters and volume of some while others continue,
before it’s their time to change. Sometimes a bit drone like, obviously I would think, but it also has more
bubbling, oscillations, sine and square forms, and above all a bit more noise and grittiness than you
would have on an average drone record. De Groot isn’t too careful with the volume and with the ears
of the listener, which made me think that playing this in the kitchen with some volume is perhaps not
something that would go with everybody helping you out. It seems to me something that is enjoyed in
solitude, so that you as a listener could decide on the volume for optimum pleasure, be it very loud or
moderate and you’ll find it out it works wonderfully well and is engaging to do some other activity
without paying very close attention. This is an excellent release and good to hear De Groot diversifying
from her usual music. (FdW)
––– Address: http://www.truus.net/
MARTIJN HOHMANN – YUNUS (3”CDR, private)
When I reviewed De Fabriek’s ‘Remixes Vol. 3’ in Vital Weekly 1112, I wondered what the individual
contributions would sound like, seeing as some of these members (workers De Fabriek calls them)
never meet up, and if they could recognize their music in a finished piece; I know I didn’t. Martijn
Hohmann send me his contributions, four sketches of sound indeed, of whispering voices and electronic
processed sounds from a market. However one of these sketches was already becoming it’s own finished
piece of music, which Hohmann has available (or not) as a 3”CDR. It is called ‘Yunus’, the Arabic version
of Jona in the whale, which he made seeing a Dutch documentary about migration (by Bram Vermeulen),
and Hohmann uses sounds from ‘De Drenkeling’ (the drowning man). I still haven’t seen that episode,
but I am sure Hohmann captures the feeling of people on rafts, fleeing their homeland in search of a
safer heaven pretty well. There are water sounds, a bit of talking, and some excellent drones that sound
beautifully claustrophobic as well as pretty nautical. This is some excellent music that works as it’s own
documentary I guess. Just under ten minutes, which is the saddest thing, as the main portion of the
piece, the sea sounds, raft and drones could have easily lasted twice as long as far as I am concerned.
It’s not on his website but bug him for a copy! (FdW)
––– Address: https://www.universaal.nl/site/
MATHIAS DELPLANQUE – TEMOINS (cassette by Cronica Electronica)
TARAB & ARTIFICIAL MEMORY TRACE – OBEX (cassette by Cronica Electronica)
Following a number of releases some time ago by Mathias Delplanque it became quiet or perhaps not
all of his releases reached me. Here we have a new work from him, his third on Cronica Electronica.
Delplanque, born in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in 1973, works very much with digital means, either
under his own or as Bidlo, Lena, Stensil or with groups as Keda, PLY and The Missing Ensemble. His
work involves collaboration with other musicians, but also filmmakers, dance, or can be seen in art
galleries. On Temoins’ he has two works that were commissioned and both deal with a specific location.
“The sites were used as recording studios for creating multi-layered compositions with minimal to
none post-production. All instruments were played on site”, as said on the cover. There is one piece
per side (site?), plus an extra one in the download version. The first side is ‘Roz’ recorded in Roz-sur-
Couesnon in April-May 2014, which was commissioned by a gallery but was also a workshop with
schools. It is very hard to tell what these instruments were that were supposedly played on site, as it
consists mainly of field recordings; lots of bird sounds, a bit of water. Very occasionally there are the
sound of bell (so it seems) from cows (again: so it seems), and it sounds like it’s a documentation of
some kind of action, but what this action is doesn’t become very clear. It’s mysterious but it sounds
pretty good. On the other side we have ‘Bruz’, recorded in t the Faculté des Métiers (IFA) de Bruz
(Rennes) and mixed later on (just like the other side, implying, perhaps, there is some kind of mixing/
editing and it’s not a strict documentation). Here we have entered a classroom and xylophone is
waiting for you, or perhaps played in some automated fashion. Like on the other side there is quite a
bit of rumble going on here, later on a bit of (mouth-) organ and in general I am as clueless as what
this is all supposed to mean. If of course it means anything at all. Like the other side, it surely sounds
fascinating, even when you are totally clueless. It is somewhere in between the registration of action(s),
performance and field recordings, and adds another meaning to the word of composition, I guess.
The other new Cronica Electronica release is a collaboration between Tarab from Australia and
Artificial Memory Trace from Ireland. From both of them we reviewed quite some work, even when
Tarab is not as active as Artificial Memory Trace. Both of them use a lot of field recordings. The latter
reworks these extensively on his computer, while retaining some of the original and Tarab “explores
re-contextualised collected sounds and tactile gestures formed into dynamic, psycho-geographical
compositions inspired by discarded things, found things, crawling around in the dirt, junk, the ground,
rocks, dust, wind, walking aimlessly, scratchy things, decay and most if not all the things he hears and
sees” (I couldn’t have said it better). Together they exchanged “materials and objects’, rather than a
bunch of sounds. Artificial Memory Trace sends a sound sculpture down while Tarab send up a
collection of small objects. Things were manually manipulated, recorded and transformed, all noted
on the cover, but maybe also adding to the mystery of it. And mysterious it surely is. I quickly lost my
way here, already on the first side of this cassette. I had no clue which piece I was hearing, or who did
what. The Bandcamp version only shows a limited amount of pieces, so hardly any help. There is lots
of obscure rumble of objects, and equally a lot of processing without any telling what these objects are.
It could as easily be one piece per side anyway and for some obscure fun it is listed as a bunch of pieces.
It is a fascinating listening experience, and unlike Delplanque’s work, it is clearer defined as a
composition. I would think there are strings attached to these objects, that they are used in a percussive
way and sometimes it sounds like they are destroyed. It is very acoustic yet also electrical. Sometimes
small drone sounds are formed and then sometimes it builds, but as easily seems to be falling apart
making this quite odd but thoroughly captivating stuff. (FdW)
––– Address: https://cronica.bandcamp.com