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VITAL WEEKLY
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number 571
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week 15
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Vital Weekly, the webcast: we offering a
weekly webcast, freely to download. This can be regarded as the
audio-supplement to Vital Weekly. Presented as a radioprogramm
with excerpts of just some of the CDs (no vinyl or MP3) reviewed.
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ZIYA TABASSIAN - TOMBAK (CD by Ambiances
Magnetiques)
MARIE-SOLEIL BÉLANGER & NORMAN GUILBEAULT - LES SALINES
(CD by Ambiances Magnetiques)
BILL HORIST AND MARRON - SLEEP HAMMER (CD by Public Eyesore)
MIKE PRIDE'S SCENE FUCKER 5 - THE ENSEMBLE IS AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE
(CD by Public Eyesore)
KIRCHENKAMPF - BABEL (2CD by Diophantine Discs) *
LENA - THE UNCERTAIN TRAIL (CD by Soundsaround) *
ROMAN REVUTSKY - INCOMPLETE (CD by Soundsister Records) *
JIM O'ROURKE & MERZBOW & CARLOS GIFFONI - ELECTRIC DRESS
(CD by No Fun Productions) *
THE ACE OF CLUES - BENEFIST (CD by Fistcask)
THE SKULL DEFEKTS - SSKULL (CD by Release The Bats Records) *
NONHORSE - HARAAM, CIRCLE OF FLAME (CD by Release The Bats Records)
*
TROUM VS. NJD - IGNIS SACER (LP by Art Konkret) *
MOTH ELECTRET - III (CDR by Mystery Sea) *
JACK JACK AND WANDELENDE FEEDBACK LAW & ORDER (CDR by De
Hondenkoekjesfabriek) *
JLIAT - NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL NOISE VOL. 2 (CDR by Larks Council
Of England) *
ULTRA//VIRES - LAND CANCER (CDR by Outfall Channel)
ULTRA//VIRES - BLACK SNOW (CDR by Outfall Channel) *
MEGATONE - MULBERRY FOREST VOYAGE (CDR by Krakilsk) *
THELMO CRISTOVAM - TROMBONE (CDR by Krakilsk)
LEAVING EARTH - THE GLOWING (CDR by Krakilsk)
WETHER - SKIN ATONEMENT (3" CDr by Hymn)
ZAÏMPH - EMBLEM (CDr - no label given) *
ZIYA TABASSIAN - TOMBAK (CD by Ambiances
Magnetiques)
MARIE-SOLEIL BÉLANGER & NORMAN GUILBEAULT - LES SALINES
(CD by Ambiances Magnetiques)
Tombak is the name of an important percussion instrument used
in persian classical music. It is a one-sided drum carved out
of the trunk of a walnut or mulberry tree and covered in goat
or lamb skin. It is in the dedicated hands here of Ziya Tabassian,
who studied classical percussion in Montréal, and tombak
in Iran. He is member of several ensembles that are engaged in
classical and world music. On 'Tombak' however we find all alone
with the tombak or zarb. Tabassian composed 9 pieces to demonstrate
his love for this instrument. Compositions that are beyond the
musical context where the tombak is usually heard. Played with
bare hands he creates subtle and sober improvisations, that show
the great flexibility of his playing. It is amazing what new sounds
and colors he finds on this simple instrument. Through a great
variety of techniques and musical principles, he discovers new
dimensions on this rich instrument. On the other hand, how inventive
and virtuoso this music may be, it is just two hands on one basic
percussion instrument. Within these limitations Tabassian does
a great job. But as a listener you must have a great affinity
with this idiom in order to really appreciate and enjoy it. So
I hope 'Tombak' finds it's way.
Another exotic instrument we hear on the duo CD by Bélanger
and Guilbeault. Marie-Soleil Bélanger plays the ehru, a
chinese string instrument, in some of the tracks on their cd 'Les
salines'. Most of the time however she sticks to the baritone
violin. Norman Guilbeault plays double bass. He may be known to
you from his recent Charles Mingus tribute that I reviewed for
Vital Weekly. Besides he worked and works with many other musicians
from the Ambiances Magnétiques collective like René
Lussier, Jean Derome and many others. Bélanger is active
in the Montréal scene since 1994, and plays currently with
Fanfare Pourpour. On a tour in France in 2005 both found inspiration
for their CD, a very nice and inspired work by two excellent string
players from Canada. The compositions are very transparent and
open and give plenty of room this way to the capabilities of both
musicians. Most of all they prove themselves as great vehicles
for the musical expression of both players. They communicate in
well balanced improvisations, that are not far out concerning
their structure. And although they make use of extended techniques,
they don't push things to the extreme. With great ease and joy
they move between traditionalist and modern approaches, creating
some very warm and human music. (DM)
Address: http://www.actuellecd.com
BILL HORIST AND MARRON - SLEEP HAMMER (CD
by Public Eyesore)
Seattle-based guitarist Bill Horist teams up here with Tanaka
Yasuhiko, also a guitarist.
Yasuhiko Tanaka is from Kyoto and played with people from Ruins,
the Boredoms and Altered States. He has his own band called Dubmarronics,
and is member of Datetenrya, a psych-rock band that started in
the 70s(!). Horist operates solo most of the time, never tired
of experimenting on and with the guitar with a great many gadgets,
etc. On a day in august 2005 both gentlemen recorded 10 duets
that are published now by Public Eyesore. It is immediately evident
that the two are very different as guitar players. One choses
for the noisy sounds and attacks, while the other has a much more
cleaner sound and approach. Most pieces are built upon looped
patterns that change from moment to moment on the one hand, and
a more free improvising playing on the other. But in several pieces
this does not work out and they do not really meet. It is more
seeking than finding what we hear. Sometimes they move within
the tradition of minimal music, like in 'Shizuka No Umi' that
reminds me of early Terry Riley work. It is followed by 'Happyland'
that starts with a freaked out hardrock solo improvisation like
we know Nick Didkovsky. In other tracks the early works of Fripp
and Eno are recalled. With this name dropping I don't want to
suggest Horist and Marron are copying old masters. Not at all.
But they did their history lessons. Consequently in their bizarre
duets full of all kinds of guitar manipulations, they create very
different atmospheres. Great, but alas in several pieces their
experiments are not integrated into one concept. But for the adventurous
listener of guitar music there is a lot to enjoy. (DM)
Address: http://www.publiceyesore.com/
MIKE PRIDE'S SCENE FUCKER 5 - THE ENSEMBLE
IS AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE (CD by Public Eyesore)
This CD is introduced as follows: 'this record should not exist.
But it does exist. So what happened? Well, the tapes for this
recording were one of the few things that were left from a fire
that destroyed the apartment of Mike Pride and most of his possessions.
As if they were waiting or meant for release in some mysterious
way these tapes were preserved. Anyway, this release will be linked
for Pride with the catastrophe that took place. And whether the
tapes would be released also when the fire didn't took place,
in the end it is of no meaning for the listener. The cd is the
fifth document in Pride's ongoing 'Scene Fucker' series of live
improvisations. This cd contains one long improvisation of 35
minutes. Mike Pride (percussion, glockenspiel, electronics and
microcassette) is helped out by Gerald Menke (pedal steel guitar),
Brian Moran (electronics), Jessica Pavone (viola) and Aaron Ali
Shaikh (soprano & alto saxophone). Mike Pride has a history
of playing with punkers as well as improvisors. His companions
on this cd also come from very different backgrounds from what
I read about them. But february 27, 2003, when they met on stage,
seemed to be a perfect day for them. The playing is very concentrated
and with great drive. It is an example of group improvisation,
where no particular instrument is in the forefront. No all musicians
are equally involved in building together an improvisation that
fascinates from beginning to the end. The recording is okay, and
Public Eyesore was absolutely right in releasing this little gem.
Fire or no fire. (DM)
Address: http://www.publiceyesore.com/
KIRCHENKAMPF - BABEL (2CD by Diophantine
Discs)
The name Kirchenkampf has been around for many years and it has
been a strange career so far. In the beginning there were some
highly limited 7" releases, then a period of quietness and
now relatively more activity, and perhaps the release of this
double CD, perhaps the first for Kirchenkampf, things will lead
to more recognition and 'fame' (well, if such as thing is required
of course). John Gore, the man behind Kirchenkampf (as well as
The Oratory Of Divine Love, who also recently a first real CD
and the Cohort Records label), is a busy bee by now. The differences
between his Kirchenkampf and The Oratory Of Divine Love are small,
and lie mainly in the origins of the used material. The latter
uses short wave sounds which are highly processed and as Kirchenkampf
it's analogue synthesizer time and a lot of sound effects. Two
hours span this double disc of highly atmospheric sound that are
as highly dark as well. Moody, dark electronic music, that is
quite angular in approach. This is certainly not ambient music
which sets a comforting background for the listener, but it's
an intense experience that has some unsettling moments. I thought
CD2, called 'Citadel Of The Nevermind' was a bit more quiet, but
that may have been my perception. The work of Kirchenkampf has
matured slowly over the years and now is the time to take the
benefit of it. It's not music that hasn't been done before but
Kirchenkampf is in the world of experimental electronic and (well,
ok) ambient music one of the strongest voices. (FdW)
Address: http://discs.diophantine.net
LENA - THE UNCERTAIN TRAIL (CD by Soundsaround)
Some weeks I ago I encountered the name Mathias Delplanque for
the first time. He created a nice CD of heavily processed recordings
of silence in various rooms. Back then (Vital Weekly 560) I didn't
know that much about Delplanque, but he also works in such guises
as Bidlo, Stensil and Lena, when not under his own name and he
has released works on Quartermass, Harmsonic, Mondes Elliptiques,
Low Impendance, Arbouse and others. So by request of Soundsaround
here is his third album as Lena, and it's good to see he choose
a different when playing different music. Because Lena is indeed
different. Dub with the big D-U-B, complete with toasting sound
and probably made in a highly digital fashion. The whole digi-dub
wave that flooded the market about a decade ago is washed ashore,
and reggae is of course big as ever, in it's own corner. It's
possible to link Lena to Jan Jelinik or any such ~scape artist,
but his sound is closer to the roots (always mention the word
'roots' in reviews like this) of the real stuff, not in the least
place because of the singers that he invited to play along. According
to the label it's more dark than his previous releases as Lena,
which of course I can't vouch for, but Lena plays a tune or two
that is indeed much darker than usual. 'Big city paranoia' music
or some such, I could all too easily think. I like this very much
and realize that I don't listen to as much of this kind of music
as I would like to. But at the same hand I also must admit that
not every track here is as strong as the first few opening pieces.
In the mid range of the album there are a couple of tracks that
are a bit too regular, and too easily made, but throughout, I
must say I am quite pleased with it, and it's about time to dig
out the Incoming! label or Zion Train CDs, which are somewhere
collecting dust. (FdW)
Address: http://www.soundsaround.net
ROMAN REVUTSKY - INCOMPLETE (CD by Soundsister
Records)
Somewhere in cold Siberia lives one Roman Revutsky, who is a singer/songwriter,
who sits behind his microphone, with a couple of keyboards, a
guitar and a drum computer. His singing seems slight fed through
some sound effects, which gives this both a pop (the music) and
a rock (the voice) sensibility. Yet Revutsky doesn't play the
real popmusic or the real rock music, how much he wants to. The
five songs are poppy such as in 'Hurry Up!' or shoegazing in 'Blasphemy
BSS', but never reaches the 'stick right in your mind' pop tune,
so it's not likely we get to see him in the charts real soon.
His songs live up to the title: they are incomplete to mark the
real popness required to break on through to the other side. But
perhaps there is space on any alternative chart for him - how
would I know?, it's not my world - since these are alarmingly
charming songs with a strong sense of independentness. Perhaps
at five pieces a bit short to get a real impression, but it's
surely a call for more. Perhaps as part of a real band? (FdW)
Address: http://www.soundsister.com
JIM O'ROURKE & MERZBOW & CARLOS
GIFFONI - ELECTRIC DRESS (CD by No Fun Productions)
Until early last year I collected everything by Merzbow and I
gave up because I found it frustrating that many releases I could
play once, whereas I would want to hear them more than once. Time
waits for no one. Occasionally I listen to new Merzbow releases,
when they land on the Vital Weekly desk and I still enjoy them.
Likewise while on the subject of collecting music by a specific
artist, Jim O'Rourke comes close to having a lot of, and if Merzbow
is the king of noise than Jim is the king of... well, of what
actually? Music perhaps. So shear excitement on my face when this
landed here, a recording of Jim O'Rourke together with Merzbow
and Carlos Giffoni recorded at the Uplink Factory from last year.
This has classic stamped all over it. Merzbow playing his EMS
synthi 'A', home made instruments and effects, Giffoni on custom
synths and analog filters and Jim on synth and microphone. For
Merzbow a rare thing to go back to his analogue days and a rare
gig for O'Rourke who now concentrates on making films in Japan.
How much more historical can it get? And oh yes, this is noise,
as spelled N-O-I-S-E. Nothing for faint hearted. An hour blast,
but one that goes through various stages, moods and textures.
As analogue as Merzbow in his best analogue days ('Cloud Cock
OO Grand', 'Rainbow Electronics'). Piercing music. Industrial
music as it should be and as such nothing new under the sun but
even in this old sun it's nice and warm. (FdW)
Address: http://www.nofunfest.com
THE ACE OF CLUES - BENEFIST (CD by Fistcask)
There is absolutely no information on this CD, except a sticker
on the plastic saying it's produced by Luke Vibert. Maybe he also
did the music? Let's say it was. Much of what I had to say about
last week's dance related releases can also be said here. Acid
techno music is best served on vinyl for optimum play back in
front of a large audience dancing their socks off. Here fifteen
tracks, ranging from say 110 to 130 bpm are nice and entertaining
especially if you do something around the house, like doing the
dishes or vacuum cleaning. Otherwise it's a bit hard to see this
as a release to be played while listening carefully. It's music
with a purpose, dancing, and as such a bit difficult on the CD
format. (FdW)
Address: none given
THE SKULL DEFEKTS - SSKULL (CD by Release
The Bats Records)
NONHORSE - HARAAM, CIRCLE OF FLAME (CD by Release The Bats Records)
The core of The Skull Defekts is formed by Joachim Nordwall, also
known as The Idealist and the owner of Ideal Records and Henrik
Rylander, also known as himself, who both love the idea of a band.
On their previous release 'Open The Gates Of Mimer' (see Vital
Weekly 509) they were helped by Lasse Marhaug and Thomas Ekelund,
whereas on 'Skkull' they get help from Jean-Louis Huhta, of Oscid
and who was a member in a previous incarnation. Can't say I'm
expert on the music of The Skull Defekts, but it seems to me that
this album is a major step forward. The previous (see also the
review in Vital Weekly 509) was quite a force de noise, but here
the three are in an electronic land. All of three of them are
known to be playing a variety of synthesizers of the analogue
variety. And whereas it's less noise oriented as the previous
one it's still sound that goes straight in your brain. Built around
piercing sounds humming from the analogue synths, sometimes coming
in small repeating blocks and sometimes like motors droning in
the back. Quite minimal but with enough changes to ensure full
satisfaction. I must say I like this new album/direction much
better than the previous release and hopefully they will continue
exploring this road.
Somehow I missed out the whole neo-folk scene, so Wooden Wand
& The Vanishing Voice is alien to me, other than that I know
they have quite a reputation. The neo-noise movement however didn't
miss me, but to be very honest, I think it's pretty much old wine
in new bottles. Badly recorded, worn out ideas. Nonhorse is the
solo project of Gabriel Lucas Crane from Wooden Wand but he plays
neo-noise. A couple of cassette players, a turntable or two and
some effect pedals. Due to some conceptual thingy all tracks last
3.13 minutes, but they are far from ideal popsongs. The recording
quality isn't as bad as some others do in this genre, but the
music itself sounds pretty outdated. Take a cassette from Odal
from 1988 and you pretty much get the same, but with the beloved
hiss. Probably I am alone in the desert with this opinion but
perhaps I am just an old man. (FdW)
Address: http://www.releasethebats.com
TROUM VS. NJD - IGNIS SACER (LP by Art Konkret)
Much of the press text on this LP is about the cover, but I only
got the CDR version of the LP so I'm missing out on this beauty.
I think I would have preferred some more information about NJD,
which has something to do with Feine Trinkers, who one day teamed
up with 'one half' of Troum to play a concert in Braunschweig.
When this was, we don't know. That is of course not of real importance
either. What is important is that the music is very nice. From
all things dark, drone and magickal, Troum are our personal heroes.
Here the two play a variety of acoustic instruments, such as the
accordion, and feed them through a bunch of sound effects: the
usual ingredients of the dark ambience industrial music of Troum
and Feine Trinkers. A bang on a can, feeding through some delay
pedals, evoking tribal images and rhythms. What is surprising
(well, perhaps) is the clarity of the recordings and the details
of the music. It's not an endless mist of sound that is quite
common in this kind of music, but especially from the third piece
onwards the differences between instruments used and the sound
effects. The second piece tends a bit too much towards the old
zoviet*france sound for my taste (area Monomishme, Gris etc.),
but in the other pieces Troum vs NJD play some highly thoughtful
drone music in their own manner. This is a great record, but it's
also a record that doesn't show too much development in the sound
we already from both acts. But sometimes that isn't necessary.
(FdW)
Address: http://www.art-konkret.de
MOTH ELECTRET - III (CDR by Mystery Sea)
Somewhere along the line I missed out on one Stig Berg who released
as R|A|A|N on Malignant Antibody a work called 'The Nacrasti',
but perhaps it's because it's some time ago. Much water has passed
under the bridge before releasing 'III', which is a Mayan word
for vibration and Stig choose a new name Moth Electret. And the
vibrations picked up by Stig are mainly field recordings he collected
on a trip to Euraka in Northen California, but also in the harbor
of Barcelona and the island of Sanday. His interest goes out to
sounds from the sea and fish industries, so it's perhaps only
logical that 'III' is released by the label that specializes in
underwater music: Mystery Sea. The field recordings find their
way to the computer where they get much treatment: nothing leads
back to the original sound sources. If one source of inspiration
is recognizable it might be a strong influence of Werkbund and
the hydropohnic works of Asmus Tietchens, but one difference:
Berg keeps the pieces shorter, roughly somewhere between five
and seven minutes. Otherwise the differences are hard to grasp,
but Berg does a pretty fine job here. Perhaps not the most original
kind of stuff that is going here, but each of the pieces is crafted
with care. Quite nice indeed. (FdW)
Address: http://www.mysterysea.net
JACK JACK AND WANDELENDE FEEDBACK LAW &
ORDER (CDR by De
Hondenkoekjesfabriek)
Scratchtickzzoooomrumblerumbleclickclickzipclickziptearscreamsquealsquealdoo
mchackchackbangweeeeeeeweepbahbahbahbooooooowharumbleclickclockclickburpburpbhaaaablapblipbl
ipquackquacksqeeeek.. Strange CDR in DVD case of 13 tracks from
a duo who are very difficult to track down (pun intended) but
a previous review of their release (VW514) describes these as
" rhythmic beating on a contact microphone, looping into
feedback, the softly arising sound of feedback, the collage/cut-up
approach" - a good description of the likely mechanics which
produces on this release at least an amusing *biology* of tracks
- all about 2 or so minutes long - and though analog - many having
the sounds of animals - clue is in the tracks names also - e.g.
"Stop sticking needles in my bird you pervert!"... squeeksqeeeeekcrawcrawzipboingboingboingcrawcrawcrawsqubblesqible.
Some kind of attempted composition, AKA dialects of noise squeals
of sometimes amusing animal grunts. in some kind of pre seminal
Paul Klee landscape?... an analogue zoomorphism playing with the
stereo fields and chattering. ziiipzipblaweeeeeessssss - a delicate
musical joke? Like letting off indoor fireworks when drunk on
vodka? (jliat)
Address tellab@xs4all.nl
JLIAT - NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL NOISE VOL.
2 (CDR by Larks Council Of England)
Since Jliat is on board of the review of the noise posse, we feel
a bit relieved. Noise as a genre is for me a dead end, even when
occasionally I play a bit of noise and even like a bit of noise.
Occasionally. It's with a lot of musical grounds covered in Vital
Weekly: many are followers and few are chosen as trendsetters.
Which is no big deal, it's like real life. Where Jliat as a musician
fits in? That is a good question. He has produced a great body
of work, starting out in the area of drone music, then the concepts
of silence and now, still the concept, but here in the context
of noise. I believe his current series is going to be a eight
CDR series called 'Now That's What I Call Noise', each with eight
tracks of exactly three minutes and thirty nine seconds. Four
weeks have passed since I heard volume one of this series, and
it's about time for number. Software running amok, some effect
pedals (the real ones, as opposed to the soft ones) and things
explode, eight times. And as a far as my judgment of volume two,
it doesn't differ from volume one very much. (FdW)
Address: http://www.jliat.com
ULTRA//VIRES - LAND CANCER (CDR by Outfall
Channel)
ULTRA//VIRES - BLACK SNOW (CDR by Outfall Channel)
Elsewhere I moan about the neo-noise scene from the USA, and probably
Ultra//vires is part of the same scene, but I must say that I
quite enjoy the two releases they send here. The packaging is
handmade, but thank god no paint was spilled on the CDR itself.
I understand that Ultra//vires is a duo from Ohio. 'Land Cancer'
is a twenty minute improvisation set in two parts played on percussion.
Besides real cymbals and toms, there is what seems to me plastic
and metal objects. In the first part things are quiet calm but
in the second piece things go full on building towards a forceful
crescendo, but it's not the usual harsh noise being spilled. More
improvised than noise, and in a rather nice way. This is neo-noise
to love.
'Black Snow' also has two tracks, but is at sixteen minutes even
shorter. Here they use much more than on 'Land Cancer' guitars
and amplification, which go into the direction of feedback of
course. In the title piece this is done through a nice built up
and keeping control of matters at hand. In 'Birth Defect' they
start immediately with the full blown noise thing and that is
then straight away the piece that was least appealing to me. But
throughout these are both quite nice releases. (FdW)
Address: http://www.outfallchannel.com
MEGATONE - MULBERRY FOREST VOYAGE (CDR by
Krakilsk)
THELMO CRISTOVAM - TROMBONE (CDR by Krakilsk)
LEAVING EARTH - THE GLOWING (CDR by Krakilsk)
The previous bunch by Krakilsk were quite noise related affairs,
which I didn't digest all too well, but here things are better.
No doubt this Megatone is the same Megatone as we encountered
in Vital Weekly 461, the project of Marel Gherman, who released
with 'A Journey To The Core Of Reality' his first work, now returns
with 'Mulberry Forest Voyage' his second release. Whereas the
first was a rather harsh, rhythm excursion, this new one finds
him in a totally different area. The rhythm machines are shut
off (well, most of the time) and the synths are tuned up. If they
are really synths, because they might very well be digital representations
thereof. Marel plays a bunch of cosmic tunes, quite loosely, without
arpeggio's and space wind imitation, but rather free, loose end
tones, which are occasionally quite nice, but sometimes tedious
boring. Which brings me to the same problem as with the debut
release: it's all way too long. The fact that a CDR can hold eighty
minutes doesn't mean it has to be filled with music for the entire
duration. Rather thirty outstanding minutes than eighty highly
varied ones.
Cristovam hails from Olinda, Pernambuco in Brasil and plays 'valve
trombone' and recorded the three lengthy improvisations directly
- mono (!) - to minidisc and later edited the material. In a strange
twist Cristovam plays his trombone like the best onkyo players
in the field, yet it's never too soft, and that's mainly due to
the use of feedback that occurs throughout various stages of his
playing, especially in the first piece. In the second piece the
trombone is played with the mouth as well as various objects,
and this is a more a silent piece. In the final piece (they are
all of equal length) this is more balanced - the noise versus
the silence. Although Cristovam could easily be lumped in with
his European or Japanese counterparts I think he has a pretty
strong voice of his own and should definitely be playing his bro's
around here.
About Leaving Earth nothing much is known, and they seem to me
a noise inspired group, which however have expanded their territory.
It's not all the full blown noise gathering here, but through
crude 2 bit sampling machines - the beloved SK1 - and a couple
of distortion pedals, a detuned shortwave and the amplified torture
of whatever object at hand, and sometimes Leaving Earth doesn't
control the material at hand and things go off the rails, but
when they shoot for a more introspective moment things are of
nice crudity. Low resolution static hiss, meeting up some darker
atmospheric tunes. Which makes this into a nice release too. (FdW)
Address: http://www.krakilsk.org
WETHER - SKIN ATONEMENT (3" CDr by
Hymn)
ZAÏMPH - EMBLEM (CDr - no label given)
Or is it Hymns - checking - Hymns - my mistake then. Whether -
AKA -checking - mike haley - (I seem to have won a free mobile
phone) (myspace!) has very many releases on cassette (god what
a boring introduction to a review) - and appears to now be moving
to mini cdr - such is progress - no longer can we get super 8
film processed - and my biggest regret is the passing of flexi
disks which I cant help thinking would be an ideal medium for
mike and his myspace chums. (there were loads of these made by
illegal pressing plants in the old soviet block - all sadly gone
- unless anyone reading this knows otherwise - please let me know
- sorry frans - I digress again!) If I am forced to give opinion
- all right no force needed - this perhaps would be better on
cassette, its noise is vaguely nostalgic, reverby, short tracks
and then for no reason a long end track, the small size of the
disk lacks presence as do the tracks themselves. Which becomes
a theme as we move on.. Emblem's Minimal packaging - silver on
black and minimal information- seems ZAÏMPH is Marcia Bassett
of Double Leopards et al. - a drone pulse for track one then a
more pulseless drone -
hashish music? - whatever (that word again) for the second and
last track sounds like FM synthesis someone used to make - with
third world horn/flute. But I think its guitar? - again its all
very nostalgic and depressing for me - those long lost nights..
Bassett seems to be heading away from noise back to some 60s dream
house - is this some denial of 911 and the current situation -
lets nuke iran (and any other nation beginning with I - iceland?)
- I suppose it could represent a sexual experience encountered
by Odysseus - not the Lotus-Eaters not the sirens gently singing
but the spell of the nymph Calypso. we need daylight! I find with
different reasons both of these disks difficult to review, like
an old family photo album, some times, good things in their own
way - but something I've passed on from - I cant even string a
sentence - these could be played on BBC Radio 3s night waves -
is that bad or good? Let the dead bury the dead. (jliat)
Address www.myspace.com/hymnslabel