MATHIEU RUHLMANN – GRAVITY CONTROLS OUR MYTHS (CD by Semper Florens) *
CHICAGO UNDERGROUND – BOCA NEGRA (CD by Thrill Jockey)
GUY FRANK PELLERIN – PERIPLO (CD by Cosmic Pride)
TAKUMI SEINO – MOOD FOR RED (CD by Vos)
SCRATOA! – LIVE EN SAN ANTON (CD by Killer Pimp) *
SIMULACRA – THERE IS A FOUNTAIN FILLED WITH BLOOD (CD by ConSouling Sounds & No Angels Productions) *
MAURIZIO BIANCHI – GENE P (CD by Menstrual Recordings)
MAURIZIO BIANCHI – THE BOWELS OF ANGER (CD by Menstrual Recordings) *
MAURIZIO BIANCHI & PATRIZIA OLIVA – INVOCALIZATIONS (CDR by Menstrual Recordings)
LA FIN DU MONDE – VOL. 2: THE BOX (CDR/DVDR by Menstrual Recordings) *
GARETH DAVIES & STEVEN R. SMITH – THE LINE ACROSS (LP by Alt.Vinyl)
HIS DIVINE GRACE/DE GRACE – REVELATION (LP by Just Another Winter)
NOTRE DESSEIN – COMME UNE MER DE VERRE (LP by Just Another Winter)
PROCER VENEFICUS – HOW THE HEATHER MOONLT SHIVERS (2LP by Just Another Winter)
INCH-TIME – AURORA (LP by Static Caravan)
TULA – NO NAME/REMINDED ME (7″ by Static Caravan)
IRIS TO HYPNOS/FIELDHEAD (CDR by Static Caravan)
GOVERNMENT ALPHA EVIL MOISTURE – SPLIT (7″ by Le Petit Migion)
GERRITT WITTMER – PORTIONS OF HELL (CDR-EP by Misanthropic Agenda) *
ERIC LUNDE – REDUCPLICATIVE STRATEGIES (CDR/DVDR by Trait) *
AUTISTICI- DETACHED METAL VOICE – EARLY WORKS VOL. 1 (CDR by Audiobulb Records) *
LASSE-MARC RIEK – HABITATS (CDR by 3Leaves) *
ANDREW WEATHERS – A GREAT SOUTHERN CITY (CDR by Full Spectrum Records) *
PNDC & HOUSEWORK – MOMENTS OF GREY FORGETTABLENESS (CDR by Listen Loudest! Records) *
DAVE BARNES & RICHARD KAMERMAN & GRAHAM STEPHENSON – THREE DUOS (CDR by Copy For Your Records) *
DELICATE SEN (CDR by Copy For Your Records) *
RICHARD KAMERMAN – AND SHE SAT UP IN THE STREET IN THE SUN (CDR by Copy For Your Records) *
GIANCARLO TONIUTTI – IGILAGIILAL AGLALGAL (3″CDR by Kaon) *
TOY BIZARRE – KDI DCTB 216 [DATA #9] (3″CDR by Kaon) *
LASSE MARHAUG – THE SKY ABOVE THE BUD BELOW (cassette by Prest!? Records)
DORO BENGALA (cassette by Prest!? Records)
MATHIEU RUHLMANN – GRAVITY CONTROLS OUR MYTHS (CD by Semper Florens)
Usually in the musical world of Mathieu Ruhlmann and people like him, a release means releasing one or more long tracks on a carrier of sounds. Usually not more than three. But much to my surprise this one has thirteen tracks, in some forty minutes, which one could think that this is Ruhlmann’s popalbum. Of course its not. Its just an album of shorter pieces, maybe sketch like, but to use the term ‘sketch’ is not something I’d like to do for this music. You may all too easily think, the pieces on this album are not fully worked out, which is not the case. They are well rounded, shorter pieces of electronic and electro-acoustic music. Ruhlmann uses “bowed metal, pine cone, dried plants, mouse skulls, crickets, piano, bells, bullets, boiling water, children’s toy, vinyl, bowed zither, glass bottle, water tank, spring, fly, insects, shells, xylophone, hydrophone and field recordings”, which is indeed a long list of sounds and perhaps not always as such to be recognized here, but Ruhlmann finds a great balance between sounds we do recognize (water, piano) and those we don’t – which I assume to be slightly processed versions of the other mentioned sounds. Its probably more difficult for people like Ruhlmann to do a shorter pieces than a longer one (odd as that may sound), but he does he a great job here. His music didn’t change, it just became a bit more tighter here. Its good to see someone like him change the structure behind his music, trying out to get the same results but then within a shorter time frame. Ruhlmann succeeds wonderfully well at that. His highly atmospheric music still stands firm, with a great, intelligent use of environmental sounds and objects into a great varied bunch of tracks. Very nice. (FdW)
Addresss: http://www.semperflorens.net
CHICAGO UNDERGROUND – BOCA NEGRA (CD by Thrill Jockey)
Chicago Underground is Rob Mazurek (cornet, electronics) and Chad Taylor (drums, vibraphone, mbira, computer, electronics). Chicago Underground operates from time to time in quartet and orchestral formats, but in the end it is a duo. With “Boca Negra” they present their fifth CD since they started in 1998. First it is the unconventional instrumentation that attracts all attention. Traditional instruments are combined with electronics. It is far more then a record by a drummer and a cornet player. Sometimes it is as if we are listening to a complete band. I think they gained this effect without much multi-tracking. They create strange soundscapes like in the first part of “Left Hand of Darkness”. In these and other pieces they create experimental surroundings, making room this way for traditional sounding melodic motives that refer to traditions of jazz and world music. Especially brazilian moods are often very near by. In a piece like “Quantum Eye” the music remains from start to finish in ambient atmospheres. With “Broken Hands” they make a tribute to Ornette Coleman. We hear an overactive drummer who seems to play vibraphone at the same time, slashed with short runs on cornet by Mazurek. Also they made use of mixing in this piece, in order to create a piece of music that constantly escapes from itself. In “Confliction” the keyboards strongly reminded me of a piece by Magma that I,m unable to identify. With “Spy on The Floor” they enter the dance floor. At last a regular beat. In general they explore and mix rhythmic irregularities within very unconventional textures. Constantly seeking for musical combinations of traditional motives and melodies with ambient and sometimes noisy textures. Each piece proves that these guys have ideas. Yes, there is a lot to discover and enjoy here. Personally it would make a stronger appeal to me when it was performed by a complete band. More souls, more soul. (DM)
Address: http://www.thrilljockey.com/
GUY FRANK PELLERIN – PERIPLO (CD by Cosmic Pride)
I could not trace much on the french artist Guy Frank Pellerin. Consequently within the context of this review he remains an artist without a history. On “Periplo” he collected 12 pieces, a kaleidoscope of instrumental miniatures. All of them are played by Pellerin on a diversity of percussive and wind instruments. “Stella” is the only written piece by Pellerin. All other pieces are spontaneously improvised or improvisations on preconceived ideas. With his music, Pellerin makes the impression of some one who is out of step with what is going on. An album by a loner who creates his own musical universe. His music is anything but far out. On the contrary Pellerin seeks to create ‘small’ and unpretentious music, that attracts attention through being modest but deep. In his sax playing Pellerin expresses himself from his most jazziest side, as a capable improvisor who can tell his story without big gestures. Pellerin does not seek complexity, but simplicity. This results in a bunch of timeless instrumentals that are beyond categorization, beyond musical trends and fashions. Simply beautiful. (DM)
Address: <cosmic-ride@sfr.fr>
TAKUMI SEINO – MOOD FOR RED (CD by Vos)
Here we have Seino with his Drops Trio caught live at Big Apple, Kobe (Japan). On drums we have Hiroshi Matsuda and Osamu Mihara plays acoustic bass. Seino himself on acoustic and electric guitars. About half of the titles are compositions by Seino. The other half are groupimprovisations. Seino is a talented guitarist who did his studies at the Berklee College of Music in the US. He plays a prominent role in several groups. Recently we reviewed the CD “Life-Refined” by Next Order, earlier “Tree” by the Blue Willows Trio that have both Seino on guitars. He is comparable with the canadian guitarist Antoine Berthiaume who also changes from avant garde to very accessible jazz music. Seino is back now with a jazz trio, specialized in a very comforting easy-listening kind of jazz, with some distorted electric outbursts from time to time. I wished there were more of them. For my tastes it remains mostly much within the boundaries of a genre that is too well-known. So I was never surprised by what things trio brings about. Although they are fine musicians who make up a well-balanced trio and who understand their craft. And they deliver you some very sophisticated jazz leaving you in a mood of pleasant calmness. That’s for sure! (DM)
Address: http://www.takumniseino.com/
SCRATOA! – LIVE EN SAN ANTON (CD by Killer Pimp)
Liner notes (?) in English and Spanish, credits in German and Spanish. A duo of one Marc Nguyen (guitar, keyboard and electronic) and Guillaume Ollendorff (laptop and electronic), who recorded this in the nights of 14, 15 and 16 of April 2008 in Studio San Anton in Alicante. Its a bit unclear why it took almost two years to release this, maybe they had problems finding a label. Ten pieces, all relatively short of improvised music through mainly electronic means. Nervous playing on the guitar, with scratchy inserts from the keyboard and whatever soundfiles running on the computer. Its improvised for sure, but nothing onkyo or silent. It also side steps the regular improvised music since its all more electric and electronic and quite heavy without being true noise. Not unpleasant to hear, but not great either. One of those things were one thinks: well, yeah, so? Maybe I miss out on the bigger goal of this music, which seems rather a nice thing to do for the musicians themselves. (FdW)
Address: http://www.killerpimp.com
SIMULACRA – THERE IS A FOUNTAIN FILLED WITH BLOOD (CD by ConSouling Sounds & No Angels Productions)
Somehow I thought Simulacra was an older name, or perhaps I am (mildly) confused with something else, but its the name used by Miguel Boriau from Belgium, who is working as such since 2006. He is also working as Mannus and Beyond Infinity, as well as Nihilum with someone named Mu. Simulacra is however his main project, having a release on Triple Bath and No Angels Productions. The title may suggest some bloodstained musical horror, but actually its not. Its perhaps not entirely pleasant either, but this darker than dark ambient music is actually great. If you ignore any darker undercurrent coming through titles or the blood red cover, then you’ll discover this really nice dark ambient, both spelled in capitals. Its hard to say wether this was made with instruments, field recordings or extensive computer manipulation, but the music rolls majestically like slow motion pictures of the sea. Think Paul Bradley, but then a bit less abstract and moving a bit more towards the musical side of things, with long sustaining chords ebbing and flowing about. Great music, but don’t play this scary nightmare in a pitch black environment – ghosts may crawl upon you. Including a remix by Mystified, who simply extends the proceedings – still not much more light – but a slight variation. (FdW)
Address: http://www.consouling.be
MAURIZIO BIANCHI – GENE P (CD by Menstrual Recordings)
MAURIZIO BIANCHI – THE BOWELS OF ANGER (CD by Menstrual Recordings)
MAURIZIO BIANCHI & PATRIZIA OLIVA – INVOCALIZATIONS (CDR by Menstrual Recordings)
LA FIN DU MONDE – VOL. 2: THE BOX (CDR/DVDR by Menstrual Recordings)
Wether or not the recent rumor is true or not, I have no idea about Maurizio Bianchi giving up on music again. It seems that he is more actively involved in releasing music than before. Here is a bunch of new releases, with old and new music. ‘Gene P’ was released as a cassette in 1980, and among the true Bianchi devotees old = best. On the first track (both tracks are untitled) Bianchi uses tape-loops of what could vaguely sound like gamelan music, or wind chimes. Its music with not many changes, music that is not loud and actually quite pleasing. The other side is more experimental. It uses vinyl, scratchy vinyl that is, with the needle jumping all over the place. Its a bit much experiment for the sake of experiment for me here. A most typical work from the years of cassette releases. Had it not been by Maurizio Bianchi, would it see a re-issue on CD in 2010? Most likely not. That first track? Yes, absolutely.
An entirely new work, from 2009, is ‘The Bowls of Anger’, based on the book of Revelation, chapter 16, verses 1-21. The cover says it uses ‘ruinous electronics, a degenerate piano and waves in decay, with the deteriorated participation of Siegmar Fricke’ (like so many of the recent M.B. works). In thirty years lots of things happen and this sounds like something else indeed, although there is that Maurizio Bianchi sound that is always present. Still based around loops, perhaps from an acoustic nature, feeding through electronics and that has somewhat chilly ambient sound. A bit distortion in the high-end range of the sound. Tracks are pretty long here, each around eight to ten minutes, and I must say that not every one needs that length. There is, at times, not happening enough variations to keep things interesting through these tracks. Some of them also sound too similar. Some are however quite interesting, such as ‘Upon The Throne Of The Wild Beast’ or ‘Upon The Air’. Not Bianchi’s best releases from recent years.
Patrizia Oliva is better known as Madame P, where she signs, uses loop devices and field recordings. I saw her a couple of times in concert, and though nice, I wasn’t blown away. When there is a move towards playing a ‘song’, I thought it was quite nice, but when it wanders out into the world of free form improvisation. Sadly that is something that she does here with her collaboration with Bianchi. Oliva’s voice is fed through a bunch of delay lines, while Bianchi drones his way in the background. Maybe one track would be alright, but four of them is simply too much.
The sons of Bianchi (well, not literally of course) could be Disruptor (images) and Dedali (sounds), who work as La Fin Du Monde. “La Fin Du Monde is the realistic vision of a modern society on the brink of extinction” is their mission statement. On the DVDR three films in black and white, which show a grim world. Fires burning, people running, machines, the street at night and such like. Nice enough, with the chilling music of Dedali. He is the true son of Bianchi with his set of nightmare ambient electronics. Extended fields of largely, synthetic masses of synthesizer sounds. He’s doing a better job than Bianchi on ‘The Bowels Of Anger’ I think. Post nuclear music, Armageddon music, the way M.B. thought of in his best days. Being not much of a film fan, I think this music stands well by itself. One hell of a beautiful nightmare. (FdW)
Address: http://www.menstrualrecordings.org
GARETH DAVIES & STEVEN R. SMITH – THE LINE ACROSS (LP by Alt.Vinyl)
Work by Gareth Davis has been reviewed before, either solo or in collaboration with others, such as Machinefabriek. Here he teams up again with Steven R. Smith, with whom he already recorded ‘Westering’, a LP for Important Records (see Vital Weekly 683). Smith (also a member of Hala Strana, Mirza, Thuja) plays electric guitar, spike fiddle and nail violin, and Davis is on bass clarinet and contrabass clarinet. This time recorded in two studios, in Amsterdam and in Los Angeles. Two side long improvised pieces, which continue the mood of the previous record. Mood music that it is. Music that depicts the endless road through the desert. The guitar is played with an open end, sometimes with a slide and always with lots of echo. The clarinets cook up a background drone for it. Sometimes things get even a bit rhythmic on the guitar. A desolate atmospheric piece, this ‘Other Forms Of Consecrated Life’. On the other side we find ‘The Natural History Of Devastation’, which starts out low humming. From there things evolve in a rather natural way. Guitars are layered through the looping device and gradually built up over the course of the piece. The clarinet goes into a much more abstract territory here and perform some great drone like background. An excellent piece, the best duo piece from these two. A totally great record. (FdW)
Address: http://www.altvinyl.com
HIS DIVINE GRACE/DE GRACE – REVELATION (LP by Just Another Winter)
NOTRE DESSEIN – COMME UNE MER DE VERRE (LP by Just Another Winter)
PROCER VENEFICUS – HOW THE HEATHER MOONLT SHIVERS (2LP by Just Another Winter)
A subdivision from (T)reue Um (T)reue which is dedicated to ambient and experimental black metal is the new Just Another Winter label, whom kick off with three releases, all in colorful covers. One is even a double album. I never heard of any of these bands/projects but they seem to share a common love in dark icons, latin names and other pseudo religious outings. Its a world I don’t feel connected with. ‘Gothic’ we sometimes call this smilingly. The first one I played is a split by His Divine Grace and De Grace. It seems that both have the same members, Moonchild Erik (keyboards) and Lamort (guitar and vocals), but it is said in past tense for the first moniker. Under the banner they have a side long track with is a long ambient piece of slow moving electronics and a piano like sound (no doubt a guitar), and maybe heavily processed vocals. Actually quite a nice piece. They developed into De Grace, in which the sound is richer. There are three tracks here, in which we clearly distinguish a guitar, some field recordings and more electronics. Quiet music, hardly complex and highly based in the world of drone music, but with a more open ended guitar sound, and wordless singing/chanting;. Hardly black metal – experimental or not. But a record I like, despite the black undercurrents.
Its hardly a surprise that the ‘Comme Une Mer De Verre’ by Notre Dessein is much like De Grace. Its the solo project of Lamort – black metal with no drums, as said by the label. Here the inspiration comes from the book of revelations (see also the title of the De Grace album, and, coincidentally the CD by M.B. elsewhere). Much alike but not the same. With Notre Dessein the emphasis lies more on the use of guitar and the vocals here are screaming somewhere in the background – or maybe even in a room next door. I guess this counts as black metal (maybe I should know about this kind of music?), but the musical part doesn’t strike me as metal at all – or did someone already think of the term ambient metal? What is similar is the slow playing, the likewise slow evolution of the composition and its ambient character – despite the surpressed vocals. Not as good as De Grace, but certainly enjoyable.
Also a new name (obviously) for me is Procer Veneficus, who have more material out, since the label says this is their ‘bleakest’ release to date. The cover shows old chairs in red light on the outside, two naked women on the inside in the same red light; two pieces of vinyl pressed in red – so maybe there is a sexual theme? All the material was recorded by one Derek, and one song is by Amber Asylum. This Derek sings and has an acoustic guitar, and loads of reverb behind his back. The music sinks away in this pool of reverb. This is slow music also, but I think its the least interesting of this trio. The sound is drowned out too much, which made me suspicious: why is that? Is there something to hide in the music? Maybe the fact that Procer Veneficus doesn’t have that many ideas (but why make a double LP then)? Maybe this counts in some areas as folk noir, but then perhaps its also the kind of music I never really liked and never did much trouble for in understanding. So not my cup of tea, this collection that would not find a place in any brothel. (FdW)
Address: http://www.turtur.com/jaw
INCH-TIME – AURORA (LP by Static Caravan)
TULA – NO NAME/REMINDED ME (7″ by Static Caravan)
IRIS TO HYPNOS/FIELDHEAD (CDR by Static Caravan)
Three new releases on Static Caravan, three different formats and three different kinds of music. Stefan Panczak from London (originally from Australia) is the man behind Inch-time, and its twelve inch-time here. Five pieces of some great laidback dub jazz rhythms. Soft, not too outspoken pieces of music. Clicky deep rhythms, a guitar, maybe a harp and nice moody tunes. Gorgeous tunes at work here. Vaguely exotic, mildly dark, this is nocturnal music. Delicate music, foot tapping rather than dancing music. Excellent stuff.
On 7″ two pieces by Tula, as it says on the cover, but on the backside its says by Tula and Cameron Miller. Two simple folk tunes of guitars (acoustic I should hope) and female vocals and towards the end an accordion. The b-side is probably even stranger: it almost sounds like country & western, but its probably not. How would I know? I never liked that kind of George Bush music, but this piece… well, this piece is actually quite nice. What a lovely 7″!
The final release is by Iris To Hypnos and Fieldhead. Two tracks by each, and each using sound material from the other. Moody, melancholic music here. Soft piano’s, multiple soft violins, playing soft tunes and in ‘Stele 31’ a bit of rhythm carefully brought into the proceedings. Thoughtful music, from the borders of popmusic and modern classical music. Four pieces that clock in at some fifteen minutes of sad music. And sad it made me. Not the music as such, but such sweet music could have lasted a bit longer as far as I’m concerned. Much longer. This simply sounded like more! How sad. How great. (FdW)
Address: http://www.staticcaravan.org
GOVERNMENT ALPHA EVIL MOISTURE – SPLIT (7″ by Le Petit Migion)
I reviewed a previous L.P.M. release in VW689 where if anything my praise was not up to the mark in terms of just what can be produced as a release of a certain kind of “music” or art. The crucifix gatefold sleeve is once again an excellent piece of craft, of image and color by crippaXXXalmqvist and Anna Lili Konishchev printed by La Commissure. However the printing is by a superb set of layered silk-screens which work wonderfully with the graphic, the record itself (Mastering by Rashad Becker at Dubplates, Berlin) is a beautiful bright pink- a Barbie pink! Has two sides (sic) a Bomb! Side which is Government Alpha (Yasutoshi Yoshida) and a Skull Side, Evil Moisture (Andy Bolus). I’m more familiar with the work of GA than Andy Bolus – a multifaceted “artist” who is here I guess working with home made electronics and modified electronic toys, which appear to function in his sonic activities, as well as modifying/moderating these? With meat, and in one case the meat is in the form of a girl “live girl meat”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lg–xqM9bc . A series of noises, squeaks and
crashes, like some monstrous Acme machine which rampages rather than revolves around the disk. As this could be described as Baroque noise or rococo the Government Alpha in its solidity is more Michelangeloesque, of sharp feedback across the spectrum, yet even here an intrepid space invader occasionally falls into GA’s meat grinder. Both on there own would form an interesting comment on the development of noise and its themes, thankfully away from the dreaded earnestness of some (no names) to the more relevant in its critique of the present in its playful irony. A work of splendid and beautiful irreverence, an aesthetic heresy at its finest. The sound art and printed art fit together beautifully in an a Escher like way, neither illustration of the other and both illustrating the other. A perfect pink paradox. Everyone involved in this production should be commended for their work, its very rare that the various talents, intentions and forces of artists, producers, distributor come together as an organic whole, and when they do as here, a genuine art object, a jewel, in brought forth. (jliat)
Address: http://www.staalplaat.com
GERRITT WITTMER – PORTIONS OF HELL (CDR-EP by Misanthropic Agenda)
This was shipped off almost unheard to Jliat, our man of all things noise, but I decided to have a quick listen myself. Gerrit Wittmer was until now best known as Gerritt and a man of harsh noise attacks. This new, short release, sees him working under his own full name and moving away from the strict noise genre. That is something that I of course most welcome. There is only as much noise as you can make, I guess, before leaping into repetition. The second piece here reflects something of the old noise spirit – a sort of sound poetry gone brutal. However the third piece (all untitled of course) is something that is has no sound at all, or rather: not one we can hear. One is short etude for a contact microphone, while four has very soft rattle of a synth that gradually builds up and so on. This music is much more extreme in my opinion than the average noise release, since it cleverly bounces back and forth between very loud and vicious material, and very soft material, with a strong emphasis on dynamics. Excellent material. Concise, to the point, full of surprises. (FdW)
Address: http://www.misanthropicagenda.com
ERIC LUNDE – REDUCPLICATIVE STRATEGIES (CDR/DVDR by Trait)
This is how these things sometimes work. I hadn’t heard the name Eric Lunde in years. Many years actually. But last week I reviewed a split of his together with Kommisar Hjuler, and on the same day that review went out, this new release arrived. Lunde writes me that ‘recent events brought me kicking and screaming into the digital world’. His latest, newest work is what all his work is about: erosion. Both in audio and in visual. Lunde again takes the work ‘I Am Sitting In A Room’ from Alvin Lucier as a starting point. You have a recording, you play it back, record that. Then play that recording, record that, and so on. You can apply that to xeroxes and to video. To start with the latter. There are two video’s called ‘Lucid’. Lunde says that the first is long and perhaps boring – and yes, I agree. Home video’s, from the car, from the TV – re-recorded but the narration as such eludes me. There is hardly any music. In the second, shorter version of ‘Lucid’, Lunde takes an old porn movie and reworks that into a great visual piece. Its green visuals, stretched out, blurry, a bit flickering and with a great low end sound of mumbling like insect sounds. A great piece of film, and as far I’m concerned it would have been enough to release just that on the DVD. The CD takes sounds from the ‘Lucid 1’ movie and reworks that into eight separate pieces. The ninth piece is a ‘reduplicative processing’ of the voice over from trailer by Jeph Jerman (also known as Hands To, and back in the days an early collaborator of Lunde). The eight Lunde pieces are best to be heard as one continuos piece of music of the same ‘slurping’ sound, with sometimes a bit of voice or rhythm. Interesting enough but for forty minutes this is actually a bit too long. The Jerman piece takes a the voice from trailer, and uses the lowest of equipment, the memo-recorder for recording and playback. This is the closest things get here to Lucier original – almost like a cover version. Its a great piece however, which, together with a somewhat slimmed version of Lunde’s audio works make up a fine release. A highly limited edition, and I recommend getting the full version: it includes a book which explains the ideas quite in-depth, with some illuminating graphics. (FdW)
Address: http://www.trait/vox.com
AUTISTICI – DETACHED METAL VOICE – EARLY WORKS VOL. 1 (CDR by Audiobulb Records)
So far we known Autistici as a band with some fine microsound like music for labels such as 12K. Maybe its a bit early for a retrospective of early work for such a young band, but you never know where expectations come from for things like this. This is quite different from the music we already heard from them. Here Autistici work with the human voice which the feed through a synthesizer called ASY, as developed at Bell Laboratories in the 60s and 70s. The music is definitely different than the later work. More based, of course, within synthesizer sounds, through which the voices (not as in ‘vocals’) are fed, bouncing off into the world of ambient but also at times rhythmic like IDM or breakbeat/jazz like (‘Clononic People’). Its actually quite a nice release, I think. Hardly like anything I heard from them before, but a pretty varied bunch of music, in which the voices are hardly to be recognized. In that respect its great to have these early works now, rather than in twenty-five years. Maybe Autistici should try and find some synthesis between these old music interest and their recent work. That would be interesting. (FdW)
Address: http://www.audiobulb.com
LASSE-MARC RIEK – HABITATS (CDR by 3Leaves)
The name Lasse-Marc Riek showed up before in Vital Weekly, but he’s mostly known as the man who runs the Gruenrekorder label. On that label you find many people working with pure field recordings, and that line of interest is also to be found in his own work. His ‘Habitats’ release for the Hungarian label 3Leaves opens with a spoken word by him and he explains what we are hearing: field recordings made in Finland. That introduction is not really necessary. Print it on the cover – which he actually did: there is a list of places mentioned and the variety of birds he recorded (including their latin name – the man knows his birds). The recording of birds is great – even when they don’t make the same sense as they do to him. Its hard to say wether these recordings were combined into one, or wether they actually reflect a real time recording, which was then spliced together. The whole piece is separated into eigth parts, cut into one track on the release. A wonderful release of some great recordings, which make my longing for springtime even greater. Pure, poetic field recordings. (FdW
Address: http://www.3leaves-label.com
ANDREW WEATHERS – A GREAT SOUTHERN CITY (CDR by Full Spectrum Records)
Quite an obscure release, this one. The cover lists Andrew Weathers as the creator of the music. He plays ‘stringed instruments, percussion, organ, voice, electronics’, with some help from others on clarinet, violin, piano, saxophone and cello. No website for the label is mentioned (and why should there? You can always find it). There I read that this is the first release under his real name, and that apparently he has worked as Pacific Before Tiger, and that his music is not unlike that of Greg Davis and Peter Broderick. I might add also the name of Machinefabriek to that small list. Weathers compositions are minimal in their approach. A bow on the snare, a few plucking sounds, a strum here and there. Mostly along gentle paths in a forest at dawn. But there is also the short hectic improvisation of ‘Left Arm Sunburnt’ as well as, right after that, the orchestral piece ‘Sails’, with gentle gestures. Its great mixture between ambient like textured music and folk like strumming, and should indeed please those fans of the aforementioned others alike. (FdW)
Address: http://www.fullspectrumrecords.com
PNDC & HOUSEWORK – MOMENTS OF GREY FORGETTABLENESS (CDR by Listen Loudest! Records)
The work of Greek producer PNDC is always welcome here at the Vital headquarters, but its hardly music that fits these pages (I think). PNDC, who always works through mail exchange with Housework (Belgrade) play music that is best described as a mixture of classic new wave, dark wave and electronica. Rhythms arrive via the machine, to which they add guitars, keyboards and vocals. So far they release a couple of great albums, and this album fills in the blanks from previous years: a bunch of tracks that weren’t released (for whatever reasons), or remixes of previously released tracks. This is another fine collection of uptempo beats, harsh guitars, piercing electronics, and tormented vocals. Indeed: not the world of Vital Weekly per se, but it makes a perfect antidote for the all serious music that floats around the ‘office’. Think Depeche Mode meeting New Order on the darker hours of the night. Excellent outsider in this underground. (FdW)
Address: http://www.myspace.com/pndc
DAVE BARNES & RICHARD KAMERMAN & GRAHAM STEPHENSON – THREE DUOS (CDR by Copy For Your Records)
DELICATE SEN (CDR by Copy For Your Records)
RICHARD KAMERMAN – AND SHE SAT UP IN THE STREET IN THE SUN (CDR by Copy For Your Records)
Copy For Your Records is a new label run by Frederick Butler (operations, motivation) and Richard Kamerman (curator, shipping department) with ‘the inapplicable thanks to Dan Reynolds (brilliant ideas, hi-concept/lo-brow). Kamerman is also present on the first release with a laptop, motors and objects, along with Graham Stephenson (trumpet, microphone) and Dave Barnes (electronics). I have no idea why this is called ‘Three Duos’, since in each of the four pieces, only two people play? Oh, I see, Dave/Graham, Graham/Richard and twice Dave/Richard. Ok, gottit. The music is all improvised, low on the threshold of hearing with the rattling of small objects, air into the trumpet and the crackle of contact microphones. Silent improvisation, with a great emphasis on space. Only in the four piece things are a bit louder with the sound of a bell spinning on a table, evolving slowly into feedback. Nice one, even without many surprises in this particular musical genre.
Delicate Sen is a group existing since 2006, but this is their first release. Recorded as a rehearsal for a concert in Albany, New york. Kamerman plays motors and objects here, while Billy Gomberg plays synthesizer and Anne Guthrie french horn. Apparently they sometimes use additional electronics and selected percussion, but not on this recording. Here its (apparently again) more acoustic. Alike the previous disc, this is another disc of many silence with occasional sound. Its a great disc, again without too many surprises, but one hears the love of playing their instruments. Great exploration of the diverse qualities of the various instruments, interacting with eachother. The synthesizer is used very sparsely, the objects rattle modestly around and the horn is used as an object as well as an instrument. Music that demands quite a lot from the listener, but its a most rewarding release. Great improvise music.
And the finally release is by Kamerman solo. Here he gets credit for ‘mechanical parts, found objects and amplification devices. Here we read he is also a member of Tandem Electrics, a laptop duo, but that this work is less obtuse. His solo work is very dynamic: it can be very soft and quiet, with scratchy sounds at the threshold of hearing, but then he is also using at other times loud feedback and computer malfunctions, which scream you of your contemplation. Microsound meets noise. From minus 80db to plus 12db. I must say I am not blown away by this work. It comes across as a bit too thought out. “Let’s do some really soft bits and some really loud”, but somehow I fail to see the connection (or rather, I guess, the composition) behind it. A bit too much haphazard put together with perhaps too limited means of sound. Certainly one with room for improvement. (FdW)
Address: http://cfyrecords.com
GIANCARLO TONIUTTI – IGILAGIILAL AGLALGAL (3″CDR by Kaon)
TOY BIZARRE – KDI DCTB 216 [DATA #9] (3″CDR by Kaon)
Kaon never fully established itself to be a real label. It mainly releases the work of Cedric Peyronnet (also known as Toy Bizarre), but he writes that this is about to change. First there is a bimonthly project based on recordings of the Taurion River. Peyronnet made these recordings in the river valley, capturing aircraft, crickets, cicadas, grasshoppers, snow and ice. He handed these to various artists to compose a piece of music with it. The first is Giancarlo Toniutti, whose work is greatly appreciated here, but which is sadly quite sparse. The title means ‘was brought together in baidars’ from the language Atkan Aleut, an Eskimo-Aleut language spoken on Atka Island in the Aleutian archipelago, North Pacific (no google here: its mentioned on the cover). Its hard to say what kind of process he applied to the material, but it seems to me an analogue treatment of radical equalization. All the lower end sounds are pushed up, leaving a bit of the mid end, and nothing for the high end. The result is a very dark textured piece of music of around fifteen minutes in which we recognize nothing of the original, save maybe for the final bit. Its very much a Toniutti piece of music of radical treatments of disturbing beauty.
It seems we missed out on the 8th volume of Toy Bizarre’s series of weather treatments, since here is installment number 9. After a few surprise volumes, it seems like Toy Bizarre goes back here to his original sound: that of crackling sound and mild processing. It deals with the weather conditions in Australia in November (the 19th to be precise) and of course its getting summer time over there. Maybe that’s what I hear, or rather I believe to hear. In the first ten minutes things die out quite slowly, but then in the last two minutes (all these pieces last twelve minutes) Toy Bizarre picks up on the drone again of the more recent works. Its not the best work in the series, but along a pretty fine standard. (FdW)
Address: http://www.kaon.org
LASSE MARHAUG – THE SKY ABOVE THE BUD BELOW (cassette by Prest!? Records)
DORO BENGALA (cassette by Prest!? Records)
Italy’s Presto!? slowly builds an interesting catalogue of music, in which they use all sorts of formats. Here two cassette releases. The first is by the well-known Lasse Marhaug, who is best known as one half of Jazkamer, but also for his many collaborations with like minded noise artists around the globe. Two pieces here, both just under ten minutes of improvised noise music. Its hard to say what he uses equipment wise, but my best guess would be that he has loaded his computer with a bunch of sound files and plays them through some sort of computer program that slices the material up into smaller particles, which then go into an analogue mixer with some outboards sound effects, mainly a delay device. This is all generates a rather loosely organized sound – let’s say improvised music. Not as loud as some of the material he also releases, but definitely loud and clear. Short and sweet.
Even shorter is the release by Doro Bengala. “We practice the art of sense stimulation through the use of colored flames, of shrieks and low frequencies. Our group carry out a practice from Bengal founded by Mrs Subhash Candra Doro in the late 1895”. To that end they use explosions of fireworks and electronics. two pieces, one of three minutes and one of four minutes. Its not easy to judge this, since its all so brief. But a-side is more present with explosive sound – although not easy to be recognized as fireworks – whereas the b-side is a very low end sound, with events a bit buried. A small mysterious release, but quite nice. (FdW)
Address: http://www.prestorecords.com