DRONAEMENT VS RABBIT’S SORROW – BETWEEN THE YEARTHOUSANDS (CD by Le
Cri De La Harpe)
TOM HEASLEY – ON THE SENSATIONS OF TONE (CD by Innova)
MICHAEL GENDREAU – 55 PAS DE LA LIGNE AU NO 3 (CD by 23Five)
MENS-BLONK – BEK (CD by Brombron)
HEIMIR BJ÷RGLFSSON & JONAS OHLSONN – UNSPOKEN WORD TOUR (CD by Brombron)
CRAWL UNIT – SOUND UNTIL THE WORLD ENDS (LP by ERS)
GARETH MITCHELL – SECTIONS 1 – 6 (12″ by ERS)
ROBIN STOREY & VICTOR NUBLA – ABOUT BREATHING (CD by Soleilmoon)
KOMET/BOVINE LIFE – RECIPROCESS +/VS. VOLUME ONE (CD by Bip Hop/Fallt)
ASPECTS OF PHYSICS – SYSTEMS OF SOCIAL CALIBRATION (CD by Imputor?)
FAT JON – HUMANOID EROTICA: (CD by Counterflow Recordings)
TED KILLIAN – FLUX ALTERNA (CD by pfMENTUM)
KOJI ASANO/JOAO PINTO – DECONSTRUCT REBUILD (CDR by Grain Of Sound)
TAKU SUGIMOTO & ANNETTE KREBS – EINE GITARRE IST EINE GITARRE IST
KEINE GITARRE IST EINE GUITARRE (CD by Rossbin)
YASUNAO TONE – WOUNDED MAN’YOU #38-9/2001 (3″CDR by Alku)
MARTIENS GO HOME – UNE OCCASION DE CHUTE (CD by Hushush)
FENNESZ/O’ROURKE/REHBERG – THE RETURN OF FENN O’BERG (CD by Mego)
FENNESZ/MAIN – SPLIT (12″ by Fat Cat)
TOMAS JIRKU – ENTROPY (CD by Intr. Version)
NIELS VAN HOORN & MARK SPYBEY – DE KLAVERLAND KLOMPEN VOETBAL CLUB
(CD by Soleilmoon)
ROBERT RICH & IAN BODDY – OUTPOST (CD by DiN)
SWAYZAK – DIRTY DANCING (CD by !K7)
DRONAEMENT VS RABBIT’S SORROW – BETWEEN THE YEARTHOUSANDS (CD by Le
Cri De La Harpe)
Dronaement’s previous releases have been dully presented in these
pages before but Rabbit’s Sorrow is unknown to me. The latter is one
Sebastien Roux, who plays ‘guitar and sounds’. This is his solo
playing, besides being a member of Un Automne A Lobnor and Oldine.
Dronaement and Rabbit’s Sorrow have worked together on this CD, a
nine piece suite of ambient guitar music. At times they come close to
say Windy & Carl or Stars Of The Lid, but at other occassions, they
follow a harsher path and end up more in abandoned industrial sites.
However their ideas are well worked through and they clearly thought
about how to produce an entertaining darker ambient CD. Dwelling a
great deal on guitar sounds that are recognizable guitars (mind
you!), they are more in ambient rock areas then in the true
experimentalism. So much better for them, I guess. They could get
more fame there. Very nice CD. (FdW)
Address: www.lecridelaharpe.com
TOM HEASLEY – ON THE SENSATIONS OF TONE (CD by Innova)
If you, like me, hear the word tuba and you start to think of a
marching brass band, then you may have, like me, a limited
imagination of the capabilities of that instrument. Luckily we have
Tom Heasley proving what else can be done. Besides the tuba, he plays
throat singing, loops and also important: digital processing. In
‘Prelude’, the opening piece, the sound of the tuba is still
recognizable and his input sources seem to work equally, even despite
his lenghty use of reverb. The small print reveals mixing by Robert
Rich and Tom Heasleyt. Ha, that explains why the second piece, the
longest of the two, is so closely to the sound of Robert Rich. Long
meandering tones swirl in and out. Maybe it is the far away cry of a
tuba, I mean: with a sufficient dash of digital procession anything
can be ambient, but it might aswell have been virtually anything
else. Mind you, this is not a complaint. For it’s 55 some minutes
this is very entertaining background music. Music you not necessarily
notice, but which provide a good environment to do your daily
activities. I played it three times in a row, just because I was so
consumed by other doings that it seemed right to do so. Tom Heasley
should be offered a contract by Hypnos or The Foundry – me thinks.
(FdW)
Address: www.innova.mu
MICHAEL GENDREAU – 55 PAS DE LA LIGNE AU NO 3 (CD by 23Five)
23five Incorporated is a San Francisco non-profit organization
founded in 1993 and dedicated to the education and discussion of
sound as a medium in the public arena. This is the first of two
releases by the label this year and certainly heightens one’s
awareness of the possibilities in the ongoing dialogue of sound and
its infinite sources. On his debut solo effort, Bay Area experimenter
Michael Gendreau (Crawling With Tarts), is in fine form (or reduction
of it so to speak). The two track set includes Two Worlds for Now, a
disconnected horizon line whose plug gets pulled at its conclusion.
While exploring the unexpected potential of turntable motors and
mechanisms Gendreau has ruptured some preconceptions of tools
underneath which would ordinarily be used to listen to any old vinyl.
This deconstructionist approach to undersized sound makes for a
recording that is almost, in essence, what is ìleftî of sound, the
resonance. This is an atypical ambient release, with a low-end
sizzle and hum in a vacuous space with minor mechanical goings-on.
In its puzzling bellows, the 35-minute title track leads the listener
astray as it rambles in its physics and amplified world of
micro-sound. Here there are hints of data transfer and voice
channeling that has at once a startling approach and tectonic finish.
The repetitive churning of teeny motorized units, in their climbing,
distorted frequencies will have you hanging on each transition. Some
of the finer sources play with the idea of scale, while at times
these palm-sized worlds grow into 300 foot tall super coasters, and
in moments they are again transformed smaller than a pinhead. 23five
is ready to challenge our ears with visionary work that pushes the
barriers of the noise/sound envelope.
Address:http://www.23five.org/
MENS-BLONK – BEK (CD by Brombron)
HEIMIR BJ÷RGLFSSON & JONAS OHLSONN – UNSPOKEN WORD TOUR (CD by Brombron)
The joint project of Staalplaat and Extrapool (one of the few good
Dutch venues, besides being a printshop and an artists collective)
called Bromron is starting to pay off really well. The idea is for
two musicians (or two groups of musicians) to lock themselves up for
a couple of weeks in the Extrapool studio (that has a very fine
collection of analogue electronic devices) and produce new work. The
result is then performed live and released as a CD (in most cases).
Two people that one wouldn’t expect to work together are clicker
Radboud Mens and voice generator Jaap Blonk. Normally their styles
are way apart. But the result is in fierce contrast with this
expectation: voice samples are used to make a very Mens-like type of
techno, with all the funk, but also sounding pretty odd and funny
sometimes. Now this is a combination that works excellently because
of these different techniques. The CD offers five tracks, that are
quite different, but stay coherent. A very successful collaboration.
Bjrglfsson and Ohlsson offer us 23 (!) tracks on their CD, all
short and concise, almost as if they are studies to be worked out in
more detail later. However, this sketchy character adds more to the
pieces than one would imagine. Using many of the analogue resources
in the studio, the duo combines them deftly with samples of all
kinds. Most of the tracks are actually really funky in a laid back
sort of way and have a distinct analogue touch. With a light
atmosphere and a keen sense of timing, this is what I would like to
hear in a lounge (if I would ever set foot in one). A real pleasure
to listen to. (MR)
Address: www.staalplaat.com
CRAWL UNIT – SOUND UNTIL THE WORLD ENDS (LP by ERS)
GARETH MITCHELL – SECTIONS 1 – 6 (12″ by ERS)
Two new ones out on ERS means that there is something to listen to
again. Crawl Unit are known for releases on such labels as Drone,
Manifold, G.R.O.S.S., Ant-Zen and others. This LP was done with
sounds of electrical malfunctions, interference and several other
forms of disintegration. The result is densely layered music, with
lots of space to wander through and lots of moments to stand still.
It is quite difficult to describe the tracks (one on each side),
because they flow from one movement to the other, changing pace,
volume and intensity accordingly. But let me tell you that they are
very rich in texture, dynamics and atmosphere and suck you in form
the beginning to the end. Excellent work!
Gareth Mitchell, a.k.a. Philosopher’s Stone presents six new tracks
on this 12″. This one is quite different from the one by Crawl Unit,
because the sound seems more digital in nature. Using very high and
low frequencies, Mitchell is tempting the listener to appreciate all
sounds equally. Soft or loud, high or low, all sounds are part of the
same musical structure and therefore of the same importance. In a
way, this work seems more distanced, maybe due to the (digital)
nature of the sound, but probably more so because of the intention of
the composer. Events are pretty stretched out in time, giving the
listener more opportunity to fully appreciate the audio, but at the
same time restricting the atmospheric quality. Which is
very much OK. As is this record. (MR)
Address: www.staalplaat.com
ROBIN STOREY & VICTOR NUBLA – ABOUT BREATHING (CD by Soleilmoon)
Now, I suppose Robin Storey is a well-known name, but rather, maybe,
from the disguise he uses as Rapoon. Once a member of Zoviet*France,
but since ten years or so, working solo as Rapoon. He’s responsible
for some of the more darker ambient music, using rhythms that either
sound like factories or ethnics (a sharp contrast, but a possible
one). Occassionally he works with other people and here it is Victor
Nubla, another long standing voice of experimental music, but not as
known as Storey. They recorded this work in the North of Spain and
use whatever sound they found on the spot. Ambient sounds, field
recordings and short wave manipulations. Soundwise, I think, they
stay closer to Rapoon’s sound then Nubla’s music. And to be more
precise, I think they go back to the early Rapoon. Strong ambient
fields of sounds swirling in and out of the mix and is like breathing
itself: sounds gets sucked in and sucked out. Like an eternal flow.
Sometimes with a driving, almost industrial rhythm that goes back to
the ancient Zoviet France days. Powerful ambient from two strong
voices. (FdW)
Address: www.soleilmoon.com
KOMET/BOVINE LIFE – RECIPROCESS +/VS. VOLUME ONE (CD by Bip Hop/Fallt)
This is one of those things that make life difficult. It’s a remix,
collaborative and solo thing on one CD and therefore a reviewers
nightmare (‘hmm. track 12 sounded nice, was the remix or the solo
piece). But of course music isn’t made for reviewers, it’s there to
be heard. This CD is the first in a whole new series of people
working together and is a co-release between Bip Hop and Fallt.
Komet, aka Frank Bretschneider, might be the better known one, for he
had various releases on 12K, Mille Plateaux and Raster-Noton, a label
which he helped setting up. Bovine Life, aka Chris Dooks, had a
release before on Bip Hop, or works composed through the mail. I must
admit, I started noting half way through the album that it was such
difficulties of remixes, solo tracks and collaborations. The CD opens
with Frank remixing Chris and vice versa. These remixes are crude and
didn’t blow me away. The next four Komet pieces did the trick.
Frank’s minimal sound palette goes towards a more dub end these days
and are jolly good. The next four pieces are collaborative pieces.
The minimalism of Frank works well with the rather more open ended
samplings of Chris. It’s a combination that works, much to my
surprise. Then the Bovine Life pieces, which are, like his full
length on Bip Hop, is nice but maybe still a bit too unfocussed for
me. Although this CD has some weaker moments, the whole thing and the
concept is alright, so the balance is quite positive. (FdW)
Address: www.bip-hop.com
ASPECTS OF PHYSICS – SYSTEMS OF SOCIAL CALIBRATION (CD by Imputor?)
To call this record pure electronic music would be too simple. These
guys take the full-on step of triggering their work with robotics,
various filters/patches and throw in guitars for good measure.
Having created The Experimental (web) Network, Aspects of Physics is
a collective including Jason Forrest Soares, Thatcher Orbitashi, JFRE
‘robot’ Coad, Fredrick Mathias Lorenz and Michael Andrew Kaufmann.
Currently touring alongside J. Lesser, this band has a sound that
should prick up the ears of those atuned to the Chicago scene of
Tortoise and Jim O’Rourke. On the seventeen minute Level 4.2 we are
entrenched in layered percussion, strings and quirky laptop play.
Unlike other programming gurus trademarked by Apple this is a more
straight ahead approach to funking up the jams ala The High Llamas
and The Dylan Group with a hankering for visual foolery. s.id takes
us out, far out on an electro-ride inverting anything you have heard
on Warp by the third power. Soares uses C64 to effect on this
two-minute miracle. Manipulated synths and hi-wave compusystems make
this long-player a treat in its quirks. Everything Else We Must Pass
OverIn Silence is a raging anthem of Cageian distain in its righteous
post drum and bass rigor. The tray card reads “To the logical
positivists, the only things worth talking about are our direct
sensory experiences, and the logical inferences that we can make
therefrom”. Certainly this could be righteously said from a free jazz
playersí perspective, but in its use of tech tools AoP may be biting
off the hand that feed(back)s with such coy delusions. OK, they are
reconstructionists, but the sound, albeit cryptically aligned to the
later night college radio set, does have a flavor yet taste-tested.
It is outside of its initial construct. Entrainment finds Lorenz
sampling robotics and stimulating the underbelly of this Vangelis
meets Merzbow class of AM/FM sensibility. Closing its doors with
Contact, this disc proves that there will be a sequel. Playful melody
provided by Orbitashi (if that’s his real name, awesome) with Soaresí
complementary guitar drone stimulating all sides of this circular
object. This is the type of recording deserving of its DDD rating.
Address: http://www.imputor.com/
FAT JON – HUMANOID EROTICA: (CD by Counterflow Recordings)
This is the debut recording from Cinicinnati’s Fat Jon (Maurice
Galactica), otherwise known as ëthe ample soul physicianí and
producer of the hiphop group Five Deez. On At The Bar voiceovers
introduce us to characters where the woman works the bar (ala Jackie
Brown) taking full control of the smooth situation as the male patron
uses meaningless pick-up lines. The beats entice and activate the
curling dialogue as the woman realizes this man is tied to the purse
strings of his estranged wife. As 14 Years progresses a smooth cross
ambient-lounge atmosphere is created. Call this IHH (intelligent
hiphop), call it loungehop, just don’t call this record mainstream!
Triple Gold Daytons has twinkling keys and a healthy backbeat that
grooves on and on. I am suddenly in a jazz club in 2025, and there
is a live-wired MC taking control and restructuring the scene, taking
the beat down a bit. There are no patrons here, but me ñ and itís as
personal as it gets. Jazzy big beats blend into the mix on No,
complete with scintillating static and low-fi smoky jams. And then
comes Backseat Anonymous, dancing with the pieces of its mischevious
doings. Upright alive rhythms with foot stomping percussion make
this one a shoulder rocking track showing off the spirit of Humanoid
Erotica. Change Your Mind opens up with a James Brown-like sample,
taking us to the bridge, ë1-2-3-4!í Over that bridge we are treated
to the distant Exact Space that warms up with layers of 70s soul. At
its core, this recording is a chill record, a lazy summer day in the
Midwest. Wordplay samples and vibe-like synths make I.Dee a splendid
re take on drum and bass tropicalia. Rain Dance, a bright
instrumental remix is a sassy track albeit a sunshower for ravers,
keeping the beat well lubricated from any lock groove. Five Deez
joins the fray to bring it to its big finale, Pretty Pussy Kitty Kat
adding a notch of “rock the house, y’all”í rhymes funking-up the
bassline. It’s dalliance in the world of bygone memories of MAARS
and S-Express are undeniable. But these are just whispers over the
fluted passages toying with the soundtrack to the 70s (television
that is). Over and (very)
out!
Address: http://www.counterflowrecordings.com/
TED KILLIAN – FLUX ALTERNA (CD by pfMENTUM)
Hubble starts off like the shards from the Hendrix (as in Jimi)
shuttle. Indeed a trip! This electroacoustic mesh of guitars and
samples is an understated meeting of contemporary electronica and
heavy metal, without its farce and circumstance. The lovely
distortion on Leaving Medford wriggles in Oregonian tongue and then
shoots off into a distant galaxy to meet Steve Vai for a moment of
reckoning. Now, don’t get me wrong, this is by no means late 80s
schlock rock, though it does playfully walk its lines by way of the
language of strings. This is a much less accessible alternative,
especially as heard on Last Sparrow, with its warped loop filtering
and Asian theme. This distortion has more in common with KK Null
than Tommy Lee and bares this discís finest moment in repose. Parts
Tortoise, parts Eiko & Koma, Last Sparrow is equivalent to a carwash
with mercury having replaced the water and suds. Nocturnal
Interstices is a Pacific Northwest coastal drive on a typical
inclement evening. Its wash of passing vehicles, waves and stormy
weather are trance inducing. Killian uses his MIDI instrument like
an ancient lyre charming the fear from night. There is a funky
humourist about in the concave Reverse Logic as it winds and shimmys
with guitarese. Call it fusion, but above its pap and
underestimation of its audience, this guy sounds like he is having
fun. Over and above this record will not be for those who caution
guitar squealers, but it is in its more abstract and introspective
moments that this disc succeeds and revels. And those moments are
aplenty on Flux Aeterna.
Address: http://www.pfmentum.com/
KOJI ASANO/JOAO PINTO – DECONSTRUCT REBUILD (CDR by Grain Of Sound)
A collaboration between Koji Asano (the Japanese resident in
Barcelona, who had a peak output last year, but seems quiet these
days) and Joao Pinto, a Portugese electronic musician. Their
collaborative output is about deconstruction previous output. The
first piece is long was composed via mail, sending the sound material
back and forth. The other three pieces were recorded live in Koji
studio and are improvisations. These are shorter and also noisier.
The two use sampling as their main thing, but their sources are not
easy to recognize. I think they use to quite some extent field
recordings, as one he hears outdoor recordings swirling around in the
music. The music works best in the first, long piece. Tensions are
built, field recording play their role and electronics pop in and
out. Sounds from the first piece returns in the other pieces, but, as
said, here it’s much noisier and less interesting. Maybe if they
would have spend more time doing collaborations through mail and
waited a bit longer with releasing the results, it might have worked
out into a great release. Now it’s an ok release, with one, albeit
the longest, great piece. (FdW)
Address: www.grainofsound.com
TAKU SUGIMOTO & ANNETTE KREBS – EINE GITARRE IST EINE GITARRE IST
KEINE GITARRE IST EINE GUITARRE (CD by Rossbin)
Guitar duo on the edge of silence. Annette Krebs is a guitarist who
is working inside the European improvised scene for some time now,
playing with people like Andrea Neumann, Kaffe Matthews, Radu
Malfatti, Axel Dorner and Robin Hayward. Here she offers three live
cuts recorded with Taku Sugimoto, the Japanese guitarist who divides
his music into 50% music, and 50% silence. Or so it seems. Tension
plays an important role in his music. The first two pieces were
recorded in Tokyo and the third in Darmstadt. It seems, when hearing
this, that prepared electro-acoustic guitars play an important role
here. Small objects on the strings, small scrapings and an
occassional pluck on the string, all interwoven with a great amount
of silence, aswell as care, provide a fascinating journey on two
guitars. Despite it’s short running time, just 39 minutes, this is
exhausting music is one cares to listen really closely. A wonderful
set of improvised music. (FdW)
Address: <rossbin@libero.it>
YASUNAO TONE – WOUNDED MAN’YOU #38-9/2001 (3″CDR by Alku)
How lucky some labels be. Take Alku. They just release a new 3″ CDR
by Yasunao Tone and just won the Prix Ars Electronica, the price for
Digital Musics. Tone (how lucky can one be with such a last name?) is
an older guy who has been involved in Fluxus in the 60s and whose
interest lies in non-repetitive music. He can also been seen as one
of the inventors of creating music with the use of compact discs.
Sticking tape with holes punched in them onto the readable side of
CDs, he invented an instrument in the mid 80s that was later so
succesfully explored by Oval. This here is a twenty minute piece of
his playing around with fucked digital sound that is loud, obnoxious,
but also captivating. Certainly, in every sense, it’s not repetitive.
The sound skips back and forth on the maltreated CD’s and is all over
the place. Unlike Oval, Tone is loud and dirty (dare I say: very
Japanese?), a direct in y’r face approach. No ambience, no rhythms,
no sweetness. Radical music. (FdW)
Address: http://personal.ilimit.es/principio
MARTIENS GO HOME – UNE OCCASION DE CHUTE (CD by Hushush)
The origins of Martiens Go Home (names after Fredric Brown’s sci-fi
novel) lie in Brussels when they did work for a radio show on Radio
Campus. Here they play around, like the modern DJ would do: using
field recordings and electronics of all kinds, either from their own
sources or maybe even stolen from others. They wave all of these
recordings together on their weekly show for a couple of years now
and have quite some experience by now. This CD lasts an hour or so,
and we get the mating call of insects, a walk through snow, and
electronics of a more obscure nature. There is a narrative aspect to
the music, but what it lacks is a truely new insight in using field
recordings and musique concrete. There is very little action or
tension present in these recordings, and it floats by without noting
it too much, but it lacks the quality to be good ambient. Now it
sounds more like a radio show that you picked up randomly. Don’t get
me wrong: the music is not bad, but it’s also not outstandingely good
or new. (FdW)
Address: www.hushush.com
FENNESZ/O’ROURKE/REHBERG – THE RETURN OF FENN O’BERG (CD by Mego)
FENNESZ/MAIN – SPLIT (12″ by Fat Cat)
A second installment by the improv three lover boys of laptopparia:
Jim O’Rourke, Christian Fennesz and Peter Rehberg, all three
reknowned for the work in the field of improvised music using
laptops. Taking from two concerts last year, we are served with the
best fragments in a collage style. Like it’s predecessor, ‘The Magic
Sound Of Fenn O’Berg’, they again use lots of elements from popmusic,
but unlike Kid 606 or that posse, it’s hard to recognize what
exactely they are using. The elements are blurred and transformed on
the spot, by all three of them at the same time. Like with many
improv trickery, this has good and bad moments (even after the magic
edit button erased the weaker parts). However the good moments
outlast the weaker ones and those weaker ones are usually the
starting point of a new good bit. It would be nice to see them doing
their thing in the studio and edit a studio album. Fenn O’Berg remain
noisy, funny and poppy, all at the same time.
More Fennesz but then solo and studio is to be found on a 12″ which
is part of the Fat Cat split series. He shares his record with Main.
Fennesz here is in full composition mode, and that’s good news. In
his live concerts the improv part is quite high, and not necessarily
always leads to great pieces, but when Fennesz gets his time in the
studio he cooks up 3 nice meals. ‘Eisrennen’, the middle piece here,
is a lenghty minimalist techno thing that easily meet with the best
in that field, simply because Fennesz adds more adventure to the
plate. ’47 Blues’ ends the record and uses processed guitar sounds in
a rather sad mood. Blues indeed. And the opening piece ‘Badminton
Girl’ probably uses guitar too, but even further pushed away in
digital treatments.
Main continues his recent sound explorations, using guitar, cymbals
and piano frame, but everything goes into the powerbook and is
treated beyond recognition. The result is a much more Main sound then
one would expect. Densely layered fields of sound, which at one point
sound like a very lo-bit sampling rate, with some crackles of contact
microphones scratching the surface. Even more raw then his previous
‘Tau’ CD. (FdW)
Address: www.mego.at
Address: www.fat-cat.co.uk
TOMAS JIRKU – ENTROPY (CD by Intr. Version)
Jirku has gained some reputation through his releases for such labels
as Force Inc., Klang Elektronik, Traum and Alien8. Last year I saw
him playing in a small club at the after party of Mutek and he was
simply great. Minimal techno, up tempo and sweaty, plus throwing a
few odd samples such as ‘No Limit’ by 2Unlimited. Here he releases
his fourth album on his Mitchell Akiyama’s (a fellow techno
minimalist) Intr. Version. The CD is more downtempo, compared to that
show, or other 12″s. It seems as though Jirku chooses to have slower
material on his CDs, which are dubbier and more spacier. His sound is
close to that of Mokira, Mikeal Stavostrand and Pole. I must admit I
think it’s all a bit slow and a more uptempo piece like ‘Isothermal’
is a delight. With eleven pieces, all clocking in at some nine
minutes, one is a bit exhausted after hearing the whole CD. If it
were shorter in length and more variety in tempo, it would have been
a great CD, but now I have my doubts. Maybe Jirku should return to
the 12″ format. (FdW)
Address: www.intr-version.com
NIELS VAN HOORN & MARK SPYBEY – DE KLAVERLAND KLOMPEN VOETBAL CLUB
(CD by Soleilmoon)
You may find it hard to believe, but Klaverland really exists, and
when writing these lines, I am close to it, geographically speaking.
It’s out there, from the city where I live. There we find Niels van
Hoorn’s studio, where people like The Legendary Pink Dots and
Twilight Circus produce their records. Niels is a member of the first
band. But the cover states it’s an independent state – I would add:
independent state of mind. Besides being a hornblower in the
Legendary Pink Dots, Niels is also capable of producing a good amount
of electronic music. With one of the regular visitors of Klaverland
he recorded a CD. Mark Spybey was once in Zoviet*France and in his
own right as Propellor and Dead Voices On Air. Taking Niels’ dramatic
and melancholical saxophone playing, adding Mark’s interest in deep
ambient and electronic sound processing, you can have an idea what
this CD is all about. Densely layered sound processings of various
wind instruments and most likely sampled wind. The liner notes
describe in a funny what every track is about (and believe me, most
of it can be true). Occassionally the wind instruments are to be
recognized as such, but most of the time, Spybey’s techniques
prevail. A highlight piece here is ‘Empress Of The Blues’, with it’s
loops of saxophones playing, going in and out. A sad, a bluesy song
but in a Steve Reichian mode. Highly psychedelic ambient music of a
darker nature. (FdW)
Address: www.soleilmoon.com
ROBERT RICH & IAN BODDY – OUTPOST (CD by DiN)
Outpost is the coming together of San Francisco’s prolific ambient
maestro Robert Rich and Britain’s illusionistic, synthesist Ian
Boddy, both recording since the early 80s. Ice Fields has an
expansive sound with twinkling interludes of poppy tonalities which
lead into the darker atonal Methane softening the space and changing
the multi-colors to grayscale. Its introspection is its key to the
sequenced boundaries building slowly in Lagrange Point. In this track
we calmly travel at about 40 mph through barren land with only minute
traces of life. With the ample use of both vintage and modern
electronics these two men have concocted a sterling debut that took
them to each others countries to record. Dark atmospheres imbue tiny
objects in its way, this is space-time travel.In Link Lost, which is
the centerpiece of the disc, there is a quiet, distant music box
evoking dreams of lost childhood and an impending, subtle, almost
disconnected, tribal warning call. Most of the recording is altered
state inducing, classic ambient. Edge of Nowhere drives a slow
shifting bpm with soaring high tone drone and layers of mysterious
siren calls. Last Outpost aptly ties the whole journey together with
its sensitive capture of leftover percussive abstractions and
quietude, putting the listener to rest and letting them leave on
their own voyage. Known for his all-night Sleep Concerts, Rich has
developed a psychically charged sound that prepares the body for
rest, contemplation and various meditative states. Having
collaborated with like electronic artists such as Lustmord, Alio Die
and Steve Roach, his collaboration with Ian Boddy seems like a
natural choice – and a victorious end result. DiN is Boddy’s imprint,
strictly set up to release limited edition contemporary electronica.
Including recordings with Chris Carter, Arc and Markus Reuter, this
is DiN’s 11th release since 1999 and if this is any sign of what’s
in-store, check out the site so you “Catch it before you miss it” (TJ)
ADDRESS: http://www.din.org.uk/
SWAYZAK – DIRTY DANCING (CD by !K7)
Make Up Your Mind works its pure-pop magic opening the disc as the
first single from the Brit duoís third studio effort Dirty Dancing
due this Fall on !K7. Clair Dietrich’s vocal adds the right spice to
the mix of hiccup beats and electrofunk. I feel selfish and almost
want to keep
this ten track diamond to myself – especially on the neo Kraftwerkian
In The Car Crash. “Blood on the window, but you’re always on my mind”
are the sharp tongue-in-cheek lyrics. The auto erotic musings ëFace
through the window, but youíre stuck inside my headí bring new light
to dancefloor reality. This is the next big sensation after last
yearís sleeper record of the year, Miss Kittin & the Hacker. What
this record has that others donít is technique, and in its abundant
techno-pop reminiscence with the era of Ultravox, the boys of Swayzak
(James Taylor, David Brown) have pulled our chains and re-awakened a
most alive formula in tracks like Celcius. It takes a certain
boldness to release a record like this ñ one that is totally
extroverted and ripe for critical rape. “I Dance Alone” harkens the
distant melodies of obscure early 80s outfits that came and went
without acknowledgement like Kissing the Pink and the November Group.
In its vintage principles this is a much needed sound on our planet,
one that keeps our fun selves freely moving. Dirty Dancing is filled
with quirky instrumentals and in The Punk Era we are treated to a
sense of humor by way of Baby Ford-like vocoder stylings. The disc
also includes contributions from other note worthies like Kotai,
Adult., Carl Finlow, Headgear and March21. Closing track Ping Pong
reminds us that you donít have to be a Trio to repeat a phrase to
effect. In its eloquent sizzle, this whole record pokes fun at
itself and with sarcasm revels in its own juices. This is pop-dada
bliss. (TJ)
Address: http://www.k7.com/