 number 1211
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week 50 ---------------------
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O YUKI CONJUGATE - SLEEPWALKER (CD by Auf Abwegen) * KATARIN RASKA & CHRISTIAN MEAAS SVENDSEN - FINDING OURSELVES IN ALL THINGS (CD by Nakama Records) * OLI STEIDLE & KILLING POPES – EGO PILLS (CD by Shhpuma) * RENAUD-GABRIEL PION – SPIRITUS (CD by Radio France) * NAO – ARCANA (CD by Shhpuma) * ODDLY IMPLODED – THEY JUST SIT ABOUT (CD by Shhpuma) * ASMUS TIETCHENS & CV LIQUIDSKY - MONOPOSTO (CD by Die Stadt/Auf Abwegen) * JOHN TILBURY - THE TIGER'S MIND (CD by Cubus Records) * TÆT MUSIC - LIFE DETECTION SYSTEM (CD by Truthtable) * TÆT MUSIC - ICER (CD by Truthtable) * FOVEA HEX - THE SALT GARDEN III (10"/CDEP by Janet Records/Headphone Dust/Die Stadt) * KONRAD KRAFT - OVAL (LP by Auf Abwegen) * COLUMN ONE - WHIP CRACKING AND DEATH DEFYING (LP by 90% Wasser) * JÜRGEN ECKLOFF - ANGEFLANTSCHTE FUGENSTÜCKE (LP by 90% Wasser) * ELS VANDEWEYER - DEBUT (LP by 90% Wasser) * SEAN HAMILTON - TABLE FOR ONE (CDR by Pfmentum) * HOWARD STELZER - ANATHEMATIZATION OF THE WORLD IS NOT AN ADEQUATE RESPONSE TO THE WORLD (double CDR by Chocolate Monk) * RYOKO AKAMA & ANNE-F JACQUES - EVAPORATION (cassette by Notice Recordings) * BEN BENNETT & ZOOTS HOUSTON & FRED LONBERG-HOLM - PINKIE NO (cassette by Notice Recordings) * RNL - CONQUERING KING KONG (cassette by Vonconflon) O YUKI CONJUGATE - SLEEPWALKER (CD by Auf Abwegen) One of the more pleasant events of 2017 was the release of a new CD by O Yuki Conjugate. More or less new that is, as it contained material from 1994-95, reworked by core members Andrew Hulme and Roger Horberry. On a related pleasant event note, I saw them play live (twice!), some thirty years after I saw them for the first time. They were back in what is now their fourth incarnation and whatever sporadic presence they had in the past, it seems that they are now back to be around for some time, enjoying the re-discovery by a younger generation or the come-back for old fans like me. Since 2017 they played twenty-four concerts in nine European countries, all of which were recorded and they form the basis of this new release. We can regard this as the first new release in ten years when they celebrated their twenty-fifth anniversary (see Vital Weekly 717). In their current form, O Yuki Conjugate uses keyboards, guitars, samples, rhythms and laptop, along with a film as a backdrop that contains also text. A question you might ask me could be this one; 'since you are someone who has been listening to this band for such a long period and with so much enthusiasm, how would you describe the sound of this group?' I suppose I don't get away with 'they are all over the place' and 'they are unique', as both aren't true. O Yuki Conjugate is an ambient band so a lot of the music deals with textures; played on a synthesizer, with deep washes (pads is what I believe they call them), tinkling guitars, some field recordings, some voices and a fine dash of rhythm to go along. This rhythm can be a simple pulsating beat as in 'Beyond Control 4', but also something that one could describe as a bit of cut and paste of more exotic rhythms in 'Forgotten Summer', but then slow and peaceful. There is always room for a big of an experiment in O Yuki Conjugate, sidestepping the easy pitfalls of new age music. In the closing piece, 'First Human Sun', the rhythm is going up and it becomes a more tribalistic dance affair, yet it remains very minimal. It is, however, quite hypnotic. What I noted about this album and something that I enjoyed quite a bit, is the rawness of the music. I have no idea how much of this is a straight 'live' recording, or to what extent these recordings have been processed/altered/edited, but there is a pleasant raw character to be noted in this CD that worked for me very well. I would call this a direct approach that provides the ambient with a rough edge that I miss in so many other current releases. That does make O Yuki Conjugate unique? Not really. This album adds to a small, versatile discography that only consists of excellent works and this one is no exception. The booklet shows texts and images as such in the film and rounds off the package in a great way. Let's hope for many more! (FdW) ––– Address: http://www.aufabwegen.de/ KATARIN RASKA & CHRISTIAN MEAAS SVENDSEN - FINDING OURSELVES IN ALL THINGS (CD by Nakama Records) Two members of ÄIO, a group formed by Katariin Raska in 2012 and of which Christian Meaas Svendsen is also a member. The latter plays the double bass and is the head honcho of Nakama Records. Raska plays the soprano saxophone, Jew's harp and the Estonian bagpipe, called the torupill. The two pieces on this release are quite the opposite pieces. 'Melting With Butterflies' is a heavy twist of sounds. It seems to me that shed used all the instruments she plays at the same time; it's chaos yet also strangely repetitive; the cover, however, proofs me wrong. It lists only the torupill as the instrument for Raska; in fact for both pieces. Svendsen's contribution sounds a bit obscured here. It is very hard for me to tell what he does with his instruments, perhaps nothing else than producing very short, very dry sounds on the side of the bass with a bow; it shares the hectic as outlined by Raska. It sounds like a bunch of monkeys gone wild in the jungle. It is a very detailed piece with lots of stuff happening. 'The Way the Mountains Make Love' is at nineteen minutes five minutes longer than the first and here the double bass has the lead, I think. The bow across the strings makes a very low-end drone that goes up and down as the bow is across the strings. I would think that Raska adds to this the circular breathing for the torupill (if that is a thing for this instrument, that is), and together they double up the tension in this piece. No wild jungle calls here, but an intense acoustic drone spacing out further and further as the piece evolves. It is not the big surprise here, which is for me the other piece, but it is a very fine power drone. (FdW) ––– Address: http://nakamarecords.no OLI STEIDLE & KILLING POPES – EGO PILLS (CD by Shhpuma ) Steidle is a German drummer and improviser based in Berlin since 2001. He is involved in numerous projects, like Die Dicken Finger, a grindcore-inspired trio wit Olaf Rupp and Jan Roder, his quartet Soko Steidle with Rudi Mahall among others and also participating in Der Rote Bereich, Quartett HDRS, etc. Killing Popes is founded by Steidle and has following members: Frank Möbus (guitar), Dan Nicholls (keyboards), Kit Downes (keyboards) and Phil Donkin (bass). There are guest appearances in some tracks by Andreas Schaerer (vocals), Philipp Gropper (saxophone), Petter Eldh (bass), Kalle Kalima (guitar) and additional backing vocals by Louise Boer and Liv Nicholls. Except for one track, Steidle composed all tracks together with Swedish bassist Peter Eldh. Many influences can be traced in their dynamic and explosive cocktail: jazz, punk, hip hop, grindcore, rock, etc. But that is one thing. The question is of course and what do they brew from these ingredients? Well, they offer a very playful set of music that is very intelligently put together. Very cleverly done and with humour! Their performance is very tight and all members impress with their virtuosity and skills. Grooving sections change direction in an instant for a melody-dominated intersection, and vice versa. These zapping manoeuvres make you feel constantly jumping from one to another beat, speeding up, slowing down, stylistic changes, etc. Their interplay is impressive and exciting. An overwhelming cascade of twists and cuts make this a never-ending experience of eclectic madness. Sometimes a bit over the top and missing the point, like the theatrical vocals in Schaerer in ‘Speed Junky on funny human Darts’. Recorded September 2017 in Berlin. (DM) ––– Address: http://www.shhpuma.com RENAUD-GABRIEL PION – SPIRITUS (CD by Radio France) Renaud-Gabriel Pion is a French composer, multi-instrumentalist (bass, contrabass clarinet, Turkish clarinet, saxophones, bass flute, English horn, electronic woodwind, piano, real-time electronics) and improviser. He is classically trained but also self-taught in many aspects. As a composer he has several albums out since 2001. As a performer, he is a member of minimalist jazz-trio Solaris. With Arnaud Fournier, he makes up the noise duo Atonalists, etc. With ‘Spiritus’ he presents his latest composition, performed by his Ensemble 1529. This ensemble includes 13 players (Michel Massot, Bill Frisell, among others) playing electric guitar, tubas, cello, marimba, trumpet, drums and diverse reeds played by him. It is an album of accessible chamber music. Accessibility or simplicity is exactly the theme or subject of Pion for this project. He wanted to play with simplicity resulting in a composition that is accessible for the listener and easy to perform for the performer. Indeed it is. It is no coincidence perhaps that because of this focus the music is pastoral and harmonious. Atmospheric and warm music that reminded me of old work by Hector Zazou with whom Pion has worked by the way. Expect no strange twists and turns or whatever. No battles or strongly contrasting movements. Instead, the music makes the impression of one giant perpetual mobile, compiled of tracks that evolve identically. It is only Frisell who adds some punctuated and aggressive underlining. And ‘Art in Vain’ is the only track that features vocals: countertenor - and specialist in early music - Sebastien Fournier. The title ‘Spiritus’ gives way religious associations and connotations what makes it related to many other ’under-composed’ spiritual music. But there is more to it. Because of the consequent minimalism, two things can happen. It can become a very irritating affair, or eventually, it brings you in some pleasant reflective mood. That’s what happened to me. (DM) ––– Address: http://www.editions.radiofrance.fr NAO – ARCANA (CD by Shhpuma) With Nao, we are in the company of a new trio of Portuguese musicians seeking for new experimental adventures: Alexandre Vaz (keyboards, tenor saxophone, guitar), Joao Silva (synths, drums machine) and Vasco Marques (bass, synth). I couldn’t trace much about their musical whereabouts. Vasques played in the metal-band Procyon in the 80s and 90s. Joao Silva, we find on a few improvisation recordings with Ernesto Rodrigues, Guilherme Rodrigues, Carlos Santos, among others. As Nao, they present their debut album, released by Shhpuma. The synth-dominated outfit recorded one 52-minute work, called ‘Arcana’ for their album. It is one long extended spacey, free rock improv-jam. Their playing is not so much inspired by jazz standards and skills, but far more from a rock and DIY-attitude. They create thick and massive layers of sound, that dwell around at a slow pace, creating dark atmospheres. Their textures and soundscapes are worthwhile and sometimes really intense and captivating, but musically spoken I missed substance and focus. (DM) ––– Address: http://www.shhpuma.com ODDLY IMPLODED – THEY JUST SIT ABOUT (CD by Shhpuma) Oddly Imploded is an Italian duo of Francesco Gregoretti (drums) and Maurizio Argenziano (guitar). Naples-born Argenziano started at the end of the 90s with postpunk band Missselfdestrrruction, followed by A Spirale a few years later. More and more he became involved in projects of improvised experimental noise music. Francesco Gregoretti is a jazz drummer and member of Architeuthis Rex, Many Others, and One Starving Day. Both Argenziano and Gregoretti are participating in Grizzly Imploded, Strongly Imploded and Oddly Imploded. Both musicians are new to me. From what I read Gregoretti is a drummer who is into exploring sound possibilities from his drum kit. Argenziano is an explorer with a similar focus. They make a good team and deliver excellent work with their debut ‘They just sit about’. Argenziano is a very expressive guitar player and puts everything he has to say in bolded and concentrated short statements and gestures. Gregoretti plays in an intriguing non-rhythmic style. Their inventive dialogues offer a fascinating play of noise and impro ingredients. Not captivating from start to finish, but their thought-over radical approach surely makes sense and is very worthwhile! (DM) ––– Address: http://www.shhpuma.com ASMUS TIETCHENS & CV LIQUIDSKY - MONOPOSTO (CD by Die Stadt/Auf Abwegen) You would think that, with all my knowledge of the work of Tietchens (one of those composers I may be posses almost all of their work), I would recognize things fairly easy. I don't. Within that large body of work, I have some blind spots, albums that I never played a lot. 'Monoposto', you guessed it already, is such an album. I have no idea why that is. I got it when it came out, the original picture disc version, and back then I didn't get it into and then in the later only sparsely played it again. Now, in 2019, I may even have a fresh look at it, not having heard this in years. CV Liquidsky stood for Cabaret Voltaire Liquid Sky and was a name used by Andreas Hoffmann. Like Tietchens he was from Hamburg and a musician, designer and journalist. He was one half of the duo Cinema Vérité, who produced several interesting tapes in the '80s. I recall these tapes to be quite electronic. When Tietchens and Hoffmann went into the studio in 1988 he played the guitar. The idea was to record and mix one piece in the space of single night, and as such some these pieces are at times unpolished and not as refined as some of Tietchens other works. That was not what I had against this album, I think. Now that I am hearing it again, I have no idea why I didn't like it. It is certainly not the best Tietchens collaboration ever, that much I know. The guitar is treated with sound effects and looped around and Tietchens uses a rather industrial form of looping sounds here; the jackhammer approach of industrial music as it were, and in each of the thirteen pieces there is minimal development to be noted. By changing the numbers of delay and reverb units, the sounds start shifting back and forth, without any changes of the original input. It is something that Tietchens did more in the '80s; 'Stupor Mundi' springs to mind and it is with that album that this one shares its aesthetic; greyish and monotonous yet with subtle changes. Yet it is also an album of humour, a refined sense of melodic form and a cover of a Neil Young song, here called 'Aus Heiterem Himmel'. Sometimes the guitar treatments reminded me of Dome, when they use mainly guitars and loops and not many other sounds, especially in a song such as 'Der Appelbeker Kreis'. Sadly, Hoffman died in 1998. It is great to see this released again, now more appreciated than before. (FdW) ––– Address: http://www.aufabwegen.de/ http://www.diestadtmusik.de/ JOHN TILBURY - THE TIGER'S MIND (CD by Cubus Records) Depending from which angle you arrive at this, John Tilbury might be best known for his involvement with Scratch Orchestra and AMM or as a performer of modern classical compositions by John Cage, Morton Feldman, Christian Wolff and others. Here he performs a piece by Cornelius Cardew (co-member of Scratch Orchestra and AMM), who died in 1981 and whose work as composer includes a variety of pieces that are instructions or graphics, which leaves much room for interpretation. 'The Tiger's Mind' is such a work, in two parts, 'Daypiece' and 'Nightpiece'. Here Tilbury only performs the latter, and it is almost one hour long. It was recorded in the cathedral of Bern, and Tilbury uses, next to the grand piano, also pre-recorded sounds of fire, water, and birds and "various unidentifiable sounds". Throughout these fifty-seven minutes, Tilbury takes us on a wide trip that involves sounds from the piano; sometimes played on the keyboard, but sometimes also on the strings, the board or the body. I didn't recognize the pre- recorded sounds that well, but I thought they were in there; they seem to have slipped by. Using the wide space of the cathedral means there is quite a bit of natural reverb. Sometimes the piano sounds close by and dry, but sometimes also far away, like a shadow on a mighty wall. Veering between what I call (disrespectfully perhaps, I am aware of that) 'regular modern classical music', with sparse notes, odd moves, frenetic and some wilder explorations of the piano as an object, something in which Tilbury has been a pioneer. It is these segments of wild experimentation that I love best. That said, it is throughout a wild and sparse disc of music and there is much to explore, enjoy and excitement. (FdW) ––– Address: http://cubus-records.ch TÆT MUSIC - LIFE DETECTION SYSTEM (CD by Truthtable) TÆT MUSIC - ICER (CD by Truthtable) The label Truthtable hails from Sheffield and "came in existence as a home for the latest analogue adventures in sound. The label name and circuit style logo is a homage to the truth tables found in analogue electronic instruments". These two releases by Tæt Music are both from 2019 and behind that name, we find Vladislav Green from St Petersburg. He was a member of Ned Hoper, an "experimental post-rock band". he was the guitarist but on the bands' last album he switched to working "with the Kyma system by Symbolic Sound", which seems to be software in combination with hardware (I am not that clever to understand what it is or does), but it lead him to work with Eurorack modules and he has a whole bunch of these. I assume but could be wrong, that all of the tracks on both albums were recorded in the same period, and (spoiler alert) there is not a lot of difference between both albums. Sequencers and rhythms drive many of these pieces, along with quite a bit of deep pads on the synthesizers. It is music that is related to techno but not always it is about a very strict four to the floor beat. This is not music that sets out to dance, I would think. It is also not an album of pop-like proportions. Throughout Tæt Music is on the dark side of things, with chords firmly rooted in minor and not jubilant major chords. This is in total some 100 minutes of music, which is a bit much to take in at once, but then: why not? I was playing this in the background first, doing some work around the house, then sat down with tea and a book and in the final stage, playing it again, I was actively listening and found it very time quite engaging. But perhaps the active listening was something that learned that it was all a bit much and some variation would have been most welcome. But perhaps that is not the intention of the music anyway? (FdW) ––– Address: https://truthtable.bandcamp.com/music FOVEA HEX - THE SALT GARDEN III (10”/CD by Janet Records/Headphone Dust/Die Stadt) There is some sadness as this is the final EP by Fovea Hex in this series. It is, as before, available as a 10", a CD and a limited edition with a remix, this time (like the first) by Steven Wilson, who is also in tow here as the man behind the label Headphone Dust. By now you know that the central position in Fovea Hex is taken by vocalist Clodagh Simonds, shows career goes back to the early seventies when she sang on Mike Oldfield records ('Hergest Ridge' and 'Ommadawn'). In Fovea Hex she has a project that combines her power folk-like voice with some of the best from the world of ambient music, such as Michael Begg, Colin Potter, Cora Venus Lunny and Kate Ellis and now special guests Guido Zen, and the Medazza and Dote Moss choirs. The eerie ambience, created from electronics and such, which form a warm web of drones, hazy and vague, but with the support of strings and a harmonium it is also orchestral and powerful and then there is the voice of Simonds, eerily beautiful. Like before I am reminded of many things that we use to find on 4AD and this time it was mostly Dead Can Dance, but perhaps more in the voice of Simonds than the music; no percussion or wind instruments here. Music for the misty day today is; preferable locked in a remote English castle or around a campfire to keep the ghosts away. Maybe it is a spell to cast safety for the listeners. Beautiful. Should we expect a full-length release with all three EPs? Something certainly to be desired. The remixes are by Steven Wilson, the man who is best known for his rock music, but since many years has a firm interest in drones, ambient and even noise. Usually as Bass Communion, but here as Steven Wilson. He effectively rips the first and last song of the EP, 'The Land's Alight' apart and it becomes 'Is Lanza Light & Given' and adding more electronics or via processing them, brings out more shimmering ambience and suddenly, out nowhere, in from somewhere comes Simonds voices, but now even more remotely away, like being on a cloud, just above the music. Not as a powerful as on the EP, but now more like a fairy tale. It is likewise misty and vague, and as haunting at the original. This is followed by four shorter pieces (making the album forty-eight minutes in total; surely one could think about a stand-alone LP re-issue of this), in which Wilson repeats that process, with sparser means. A few sounds are spun around and Simonds voice in 'Given' and 'Lanza' are no longer sampled into obscurity but are as crisp and clear as on the original. If Fovea Hex needs another member to provide them with some ambient material, I'd say they should enlist mister Wilson to pull it off. (FdW) ––– Address: http://www.janetrecords.com/ http://headphonedust.com/?v=79cba1185463 http://www.diestadtmusik.de/ KONRAD KRAFT - OVAL (LP by Auf Abwegen) There is a possibility of starting this review with the words 'here's a name I haven't heard in a long time' or 'with regular yet slow clockwork, Konrad Kraft delivers a new release'. I think for variation sake I go with 'it's great to see Auf Abwegen doing the third release by this musician from Düsseldorf and it shows some of the label’s confidence in his work. In these days of musicians hopping from label to label, it sounds great to have a home for your music". The two previous releases were 'Temporary Audiosculptures And Artefacts' (Vital Weekly 787) and 'Quadrat' (Vital Weekly 1056). I would think Kraft (real name: Detlef Funder) is an early adapter of modular synthesizers. Over the years his music seems to have slowed and calmed down; perhaps less 'industrial', even if it never really was and more 'ambient', which surely on this new it is. On his previous record, Kraft still had some of that old '70s and 80's synthesizer sound, Conrad Schnitzler and Asmus Tietchens, but on this new album, he takes an even more ambient route with six mellow constructions in sound. I understand that at the basis of this there are field recordings that he feeds through two software synths and a modular synthesizer. Whatever these field recordings were, I have no idea; only 'Oval 3' seemed to me to be using the sound of birds. The music is such a nature that we are left in the dark with that respect. There is some cloud over this music of shimmering tones, dusty drones and foggy sounds. It is all very atmospheric and moody as you might expect, yet it is also with a fine melodic touch, like the minimalist piano in 'Oval 2'. On this new record, Konrad Kraft connects also musically with the current modular synthesizer posse, with some highly delicate, very moody ambient music. The experimental side is not ignored and Konrad Kraft uses it all very wisely. (FdW) ––– Address: http://www.aufabwegen.de/ COLUMN ONE - WHIP CRACKING AND DEATH DEFYING (LP by 90% Wasser) JÜRGEN ECKLOFF - ANGEFLANTSCHTE FUGENSTÜCKE (LP by 90% Wasser) ELS VANDEWEYER - DEBUT (LP by 90% Wasser) So, what can one do? Ignore them? Or review them? Two of these three releases are already from 2016, so perhaps not the newest of releases; maybe 90%Wasser had some overstock that deserved some promotion? I don't know. Reviewing these doesn't mean that your favourite rag is now open for all releases you forgot to send from recent years; it signals a quiet week in a month that usually doesn’t see many new releases. Column One is no doubt for me one of the stranger groups I know. On Discogs the group is described, as "The crucial point in the work of Column One is to bring back into consciousness communication in its unavoidable consequence & presence. ... thus, it's about decoding information, the utilisation, cutting up & decoding of that which is presented to us as Reality & of what we constantly present to ourselves. To succeed in this decoding process Column One utilises the existing forms of communication & its media & generally considers everything as raw material, basic element or even finished product. The philosophical ideas of Radical Constructivism, the paths of the Cut-Up demonstrators & Dada Fascists have had a greater influence on the foundation and the work of Column One." Here we have a record that, for me at least, doesn't decode any information; rather the opposite. It contains recordings "during rehearsals for ENTROPIUM at Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Berlin, March 23, 2012, Celebrated & recorded in one take | No overdubs" and the more curious one-liner "Column One were Zeitkratzer". What does that mean? My best guess is that Column One is in the same room as Zeitkratzer and much of the first side is taken up by some far-away voices, some silence and an occasional crack on a drum. Towards the end, someone starts to play the trombone, as warming up (?) and that continues well into side B until we hear some voices again; yet, we can not hear what these voices say. Towards the end, more members start adding music and dialogue. Is it music? Is that a relevant question? What is it about? I have no idea? Do I like it? The word is not out yet. Column One member and label boss Jürgen Eckloff has a solo record that could easily raise such questions as well, but for all I know it is less conceptual; however, I am not sure about that. The recordings on this LP are not very recent. Side A was recorded from 1998 to 2004 in a bunch of places, Ückeritz, Morgenitz, Sogndal, Etzin and Berlin and in 2010 it was edited into the form it now has, as one piece on this LP. The other side has recordings from 2013 to 2015 made in Liverpool, Berlin, Innsbruck, Graz and Zernikow and was mixed in 2015. This side is divided into six parts. It is not easy to understand what is going on. On the first side, we hear several field recordings, water, some acoustic rumbling (paper being rustled, perhaps?), which sounds close by and something that falls towards a floor but then recorded from some distance. There might be a few others. None of this seems to be loops of any kind (again: not sure) and there seems little repetition throughout this, which makes up the quite fascinating listening experience. It is all very quiet and peaceful, without the tension that silence also can have. In the six pieces on the other side, there is a more acoustic feeling to it. It sounds like a collection of recordings of various objects and surfaces; the title does not shed more light; 'Röhrenfett', which Google translates as 'tube-fat', four parts of 'Mörtel' ('mortar') and one that is called 'Jazz'. There is quite some similarity within these pieces to be noted; it is not difficult to see the connection there, perhaps with the notable exception of 'Jazz', which starts of with the sound of squeaking door, which seems to continue but at a certain point I thought it was also an interesting interaction with a clarinet. Not jazz, perhaps, but an excellent piece of improvisation meeting electro-acoustic music. This is an excellent record, all around. And then, finally, we arrive in the here and now, with the LP by Els Vandeweyer, who plays solo vibraphone. The music was recorded at Berlin's KM28, a lovely space for new music (according to those in the know, 'Berlin's hottest place for this kind of music') earlier this year and then mixed later on. I would not have minded seeing how Vandeweyer plays her music. The sound of the vibraphone is surely something that we hear on this record, warm as it usually is. But I would think she also does something else, and since I haven't seen the concert I have no idea if and what kind of electronics are used here, but somehow I think there is. Maybe a bit of delay? There is in 'Betonplaten Straat' also totally different sounds to be noted, perhaps from a tape or so to which the vibraphone is added. I have no idea but it sounds like a wonderful piece of electro- acoustic music. In 'Exhibition', the long piece on the second side (the only other here is 'Preparation', which is a field recording of preparing for the concert), she seems to be adding objects to the vibraphone and it becomes a percussive piece of vibraphone and objects; the drumming becomes a bit more mechanical and metallic but throughout it is a very pleasing piece. Her tempos don't seem to be very strict, rattling her through the material quite freely. There is a light proposition in this music, improvised, free and spacious, even when there is quite a bit of sound to be heard. Towards the end there is a bit with the bow, ringing out overtones. 'A.O.M.' on the other side is, by comparison, a formal vibraphone piece of music. This is a great showcase of what she can do on this instrument, extended techniques as well as a more formal approach on the instrument and throughout an excellent LP. (FdW) ––– Address: https://wasser90.bandcamp.com/ SEAN HAMILTON - TABLE FOR ONE (CDR by Pfmentum) As I have noted before the solo CD by an improvising musician can often be seen as a business card. "This is what I do”, sort of thing. I don't think I heard of Sean Hamilton before. He's drummer and percussion player, who recorded in February this year in Florida this CD of twelve relatively, short pieces. In his past work, he says he's both a composer and improviser and composed for "solo instruments, chamber ensembles, electroacoustic mediums, and fixed media", and is also a lecturer on these subjects. According to the cover, his interests are "contemporary classical music, free improvisation, noise, sound art, and electroacoustic music". In these twelve pieces, ranging from one to six minutes, the drum kit is the most important instrument and he uses his sticks to hit the skins. Additional percussion, so he says, that can be both traditional and found, is placed upon the drums for further explorations. He also uses a vuvuzela, but only sparsely, so it seems to me. Throughout these pieces there is quite a variation to be noted; from a wild rolling around on toms, bass and snares, to more thoughtful quieter work and pieces with quite some sound but then sounding sparser; each of the sounds has a firm place in the overall spectrum and there is great detail throughout all of these pieces. As these sorts of things go, I think this is a pretty good business card. So if you are into playing improvised music and open for new experiences with playing with other people, then consider Sean Hamilton if you are in his neck of the woods. (FdW) ––– Address: http://www.pfmentum.com HOWARD STELZER - ANATHEMATIZATION OF THE WORLD IS NOT AN ADEQUATE RESPONSE TO THE WORLD (double CDR by Chocolate Monk) Don't let the fact that my name appears on the cover make you think that I am biased about it. I didn't know anything about until it was all done. Stelzer uses a cast of people that (unwillingly?) contributed sounds to this; Peter Hope (words and singing), Jason talbot (turntable), Richard Youngs (words and singing), Le Quan Nin (percussion), Jesse Kudler (piano) and a bit of Casio by your humble narrator. Stelzer himself takes credit for "tapes and some singing". The remarkable thing here being, of course, the various parts that include 'singing', as that is not something one associate with the music of Howard Stelzer. Somehow using his voice is something that fascinates him for some time, even when he feels he's well qualified to do so. Stelzer had a dream arriving at a concert with no equipment and started singing and did something in real life when he performed a Richard Youngs song with vocals during a concert (and somewhere to be found on these discs). However, Stelzer being Stelzer, this album is mostly about his use of cassettes. By now he must have quite a library full of them, with sounds he recorded in odd locations. These are not just field recordings, but also recordings from other locations that he plays back in a new location, using the specific acoustic of that new location. These sounds can be voices as well. So spread across these two discs, 8 tracks in total (and some of these are up to twenty minutes) we hear voices, and these voices can be altered in the same way Stelzer usually alters his sounds, but they can also be singing, however strange, alien and far away they might be. There is also spoken word (on 'Chaos Is Handsome And Attractive And More Durable Than Regret' for instance and it is all a fascinating run of pieces. Rusty sounds of metallic objects upon concrete floors, the humming of machines, the wind and rain outside the empty building, where sounds reverb through the hallway, a ventilation shaft with electrical wiring and buzzing faulty lines in the kitchen, or a multi-layered recording of a trillion 'happy' TV sounds; this is not a traditional singer-song album, and that's what I didn't expect Stelzer to do. Not just yet. I would not be surprised if one day he would slowly try his hands at that. This is surely one of his best albums to date; in terms of what we know and with a few surprising new ideas. (FdW) ––– Address: http://chocolatemonk.co.uk/ RYOKO AKAMA & ANNE-F JACQUES - EVAPORATION (cassette by Notice Recordings) BEN BENNETT & ZOOTS HOUSTON & FRED LONBERG-HOLM - PINKIE NO (cassette by Notice Recordings) First, we have a cassette with two live recordings, made by Anne-F Jacques and Ryoko Akama, when they did a tour in the USA in 2018. Both women have a reputation for moving along the lines of improvised music and sound art, all of which usually in a very minimal way. Two small pictures included in the package show us part of their set-up which they use in their concert/performance and which is described as "occasional action-gestures over a whisper-bed of electronics, activated objects, along with Jacques' "contraptions and erratic devices" (a stated interest), which interject a variety of odd rhythms and sounds. When performing live, Akama and Jacques move fluidly across the room, stopping at various “object stations”, engaged with playful intensity". I have no idea if these two twenty-one-minute pieces have been edited in some way or if this is a straightforward recording, as is, but it sounds very interesting, even when you don't see the actual action. That is something to regret, I am fully aware of that, as I am sure the action was visually interesting. Hearing just the audio part of it leaves more to ponder over, even looking at the same photos. These are objects, brushes, paperclips and such, moved around with small motors and this leads to repeated sound action. This action is minimal, surely, but not static, as perhaps the use of motors would imply. It moves, shakes and a bell is struck now and then; nothing is on a strict repeated, while all the sounds remain the same and yet, also not. Configurations of these sounds change, sometimes move to the front, something else disappears altogether, and there is a very fine vibrancy to be noted within these two pieces. It is very direct, as if one is standing in the middle of all the action, sounds being there, left and right, of brushes on the floor, bells ringing and some that even after repeated listening, I still have no idea about. The other new release by Notice Recordings is something of a more 'traditional' improvised music nature and a live recording of cello player Fred Lonberg-Holm, percussionist Be Bennett and 'multi-instrumental improviser' Zoots Houston. Houston and Lonberg-Holm moved from Chicago to Kingston (NY), but this was recorded in the former hometown, at Elastic Arts. This is a long release, close to eighty minutes and not easy to digest all at once; at least not for me. First, I got through the first side all right but felt exhausted after that to continue on the second side, so the next time that's where I started (of course, the medium of cassette helps in that respect). The six pieces are energetic bursts of controlled as well as chaotic excursions on the instruments that they brought along for this concert. You may recognize the drums fairly easily, the cello most of the times but whatever it is that is played by Houston remains something of a mystery to me. The small photo inside the cassette box didn't shed much more light. It could be more strings, but just as it could be wind instruments or something electronic. Even in their 'quiet' moments, there is a lot of sonic information, which requires quite the attention of the listener. Here too we deal with a direct live to tape recording, which adds to the massiveness of the whole thing. At times it seems quite distorted, such as in the first piece on the second side; like there is some dust captured on tape as well. This is free improvisation, sometimes leaning towards free jazz (second piece on the second side) and a great delight to hear; within reason or parts. With some editing I think it could have gained a bit more strength; now it's very long and mostly good documentation of the event. (FdW) ––– Address: https://noticerecordings.bandcamp.com/ RNL - CONQUERING KING KONG (cassette by Vonconflon) One Jesse Farber is the man behind RNL and he started this in the early 1990s, and "it initially focussed on tape experiments, collage flyers, and performative actions". It wasn't considered as 'art' by those involved and none of the recordings was shared outside the group of people, some which never met. Now, in 2019, they release their first cassette. It is not told why nothing was released was before. It is said that it is "woven together from a massive archive of tapes", "out of location recordings, found sounds, private performances, private performances and endless analogue and digital manipulation". That is, I guess, quite a good description of what one hears on this tape. It goes a bit all of the place with all sorts of manipulations and results. Time stretching drones, processed sounds of rain and synthesizers, percussive banging on fences and radiator pipe and spacious drones. The first side is thirty-one minutes long and separated into various segments, each with its character. From mild ambient to wild ambience; from random percussion to a bit with a rhythm machine (I could try to figure the names of individual segments on the cover, but I fear the failure). At times I was reminded of Bruce Gilbert and Graham Lewis 'Mzui' project; it shared a similar 'art sound in art space' feeling of random bits versus structure (through the use of loops). On the other side we find the short 'Interregnuum' and the thirteen-minute piece 'Chopping Every Finger Off', which somehow sounded less live and more studio. I preferred the long piece on the first side, which seemed to me to have a better flow. I didn't quite get why the second side was only used for about a half the length; one would assume the group would have plenty of recordings? What I heard made me curious to hear some more. (FdW) ––– Address: https://r-n-l.bandcamp.com/releases |