TEST DEFT – TOTALITY (CD by KK Records)
I have never followed the efforts of T.D. as earlier material failed to
interest me. Reviewing material in this light has it’s good and bad
points of course but I feel it fair to judge releases on their own
merits without necessarily referring to previous stuff. On the other
hand, Totality could be completely brilliant compared to what has gone
before. The fact that they were one of the most important groups in the
industrial scene cannot be denied. This is their first full length
release on KK preceded by a CD single some months back. Several tracks
on this CD are outstanding especially those graced with the haunting
vocals of Kate Jane Garside and several of them are decimated by
extremely irritating male vocals. There are many different moods on
this disc ranging from totally uplifting to the dark and somber. There
are some interesting combinations of sounds too. ..great use is made of
sampled voices but often the drum programming fails to quite get there.
On the whole it all sounds a bit dated and this may be because of their
musical heritage. I recommend possible purchasers give this one a good
listen before they buy. (MF)
SMALL CRUEL PARTY – THE SUBTLE BODY (7″ by Banned Productions)
Another fine release for both Banned (who proves to be small but with a
high sense of quality) and Seattle musician Small Cruel Party. Many of
his works are strong musique concrete related pieces where objects are
being examined for the musical quality. The sound is altered by using
effects, thus creating a drone effect. What these sound sources are we
are not told -and maybe SMC thinks it is not really necessary. Side A
has some sort of digital glitches, where the drones are mixed in. The
other side is more vague Concerning its sources and its composition.
Nevertheless a nice record, better than the slightly disappointing 10″
picture disc from a few months ago. // Address: Banned – P.O. Box 323 –
Fremont, CA 94537 – USA
GASTR DEL SOL/TONY CONRAD (7″ by Table Of The Elements)
Now here is a really strange affair. ..Gastr Del Sol’s ‘The Japanese
Room At La Pagode’ opens with a lot of hiss or an open microphone and
nothing happens. Then a piano is played with some vocals by David
Grubbs, then more open microphone sounds, some electronic noise (for
only a few seconds), the piano and that’s it. Great piece. Conrad
explores the electric violin again in one of his minimal compositions.
Short, a bit violent and somewhat more coherent then his most recent
CD. // Address: <tote@aol.com>
AH CAMA SOTZ -HECATE’S PSY (7. by Bats & Cats)
I always assumed that the Belgium group The Hybryds was just one
person, but apparently there were more, as this new group is an off-
shoot from The Hybryds. Both tracks (two mixes of the same track) are
being held together by a pumping rhythm, not housy, but tribal, with
electronic sound in the background. A nice single. // Address: Herman
Klapholz -Zonnedauwstr. 40- 2610 Wilrijk – Belgium
KILLER BUG -YOUR WIFE IS MINE (7. by Self Abuse)
Killer Bug is a new name on the Jap-noise scene. This is his second
release. Playing on 45 RPM this is a relatively short affair, but with
a great intensity. Side A is the more electronic side of Killer Bug,
very violent. The other side has a lot of metal percussion, high
pitched of course. No doubt we will hear more from this guy in the
future. // Address: <sarecords@aol.com>
MP LANCASTER -STAG PIE (CD by Pi/T&B)
MP is new to me. ..according to the press blurb he played with several
people from the Sahko label and he played with Muslimgauze during his
second live performance in september. The first two tracks clock in at
about 15 minutes and have a sort of dance feel to it. But: a sort of!
Whenever it gets too much dance, he throws in whacked electronics,
weird guitar samples or vocals. Therefore it is hard to classify this
as dance music, or in fact to define this into any category at all. The
last track, almost 35 minutes, is somewhat different: a flowing synth
piece in some fine tradition (the dreaded a-word here) , and the
weirdness is apparent here also but mixed to the background. A fine
release. // Address: through Plastic Head
AGENT RANDOM (12″ by T&B)
T&B vinyl may be known to some for some fine releases on 12″ with
experimental house music, such as Titrology or O (Sahko) .Why on earth
they wanted to release Agent Random I don’t know. Badly played guitar
with rhythmbox. Ten year’s late. // Address: through Plastic Head
LAGOWSKI -PRISMATIC (CD by Hypnotism)
Andrew Lagowski is known for many fine releases under various names and
various musical guises. His release for Hypnotism seems more then
appropriate, since Hypnotism is known for their ‘arm-chair-techno’
releases. Lagowski shows his excellent skills of producing intelligent
dance music. with some tracks more tending to the ‘ambient’ scene.
Another fine release. // Address: Hypnotism – P.O. Box 910127- 90259
Nurnberg – Germany
PWOG- RECORD OF BREAKS (CD by KK Records)
Another release on KK reviewed in the last issue, but its just so good
we’re doing it again. I had no expectations of this Record Of Breaks
and am pleased to report that, contrary to some of the opinions I have
heard, I am extremely impressed by their latest work. I listened to it
every day for a week and the first thing that I noticed was the warmth
and the care taken with the material. ..these guys are enraptured by
their craft and it is obviously apparent (yet again!) from this
release. It is a sort of suite, I guess, of longer tracks linked by
shorter pieces all titled ‘Revelation’ .These shorter pieces are by far
the most confrontational but certainly add the contrast the longer
tracks require. It opens with the carefully paced ‘A Kind Of Prayer’
which unfolds through the 14 second ‘Revelation’ into ‘Sheap? in which
stretched sounds provide a backdrop for meandering piano. Two uptempo
rhythmic tracks follow the second ‘Revelation’ .’Kraak’ is a studio
version of the longer jam which came out on CD Single earlier this
year. It is characteristically a PWOG piece with the emphasis laid on
the beats. They manage to slip so many layers in unobtrusively. ..this
may be their secret.
Suddenly you are enfolded in irresistible grooves which effectively
transport you into their ritual of dance. A fourth and final
‘Revelation’ pushes and shoves you into the last track ‘Thru’ with it’s
soft sweeps which build in intensity and then subside leaving us
suitably massaged, better for it and ready to press the Play button
once more. Steal or buy this CD. ..you will never regret it. (MP)