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VITAL WEEKLY
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number 703
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week 44
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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.
It will remain on the site for a limited period (most likely 2-4
weeks). Download the file to your MP3 player and enjoy!
complete tracklist here: http://www.vitalweekly.net/podcast.html
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Submitting material means you read this and approve of this.
* noted are in this week's podcast. We finally have a feed again. 1000x times to Maximillian for his endless patience & help. Its here: http://www.vitalweekly.net/podcast.xml
VIV - SEA SHELLS LISTENING (CD by Pebble)
*
AARKTICA - IN SEA (CD by Silber Records) *
VLOR - SIX-WINGED (CD by Silber Records) *
ANDUIN - ABANDONED IN SLEEP (CD by Smtg Limited) *
BLACK TO COMM - ALPHABET 1968 (CD by Type Records) *
ANGUS CARLYLE - SOME MEMORIES OF BAMBOO (CD by Gruenrekorder)
*
MARILYN LERNER & MATT BRUBECK & NICK FRASER - UGLY BEAUTIES
(CD by Ambiances Magnetiques)
MANKIND - ICE MACHINE (CD by Ambiances Magnetiques)
CHARITY CHAN - SOMEWHERE THE SEA AND SALT (CD by Ambiances Magnetiques)
NORMAND GUILBEAULT ENSEMBLE - HOMMAGE A MINGUS (CD by Ambiances
Magnetiques)
IF, BWANA - 31 (CD by GD Stereo) *
IMMINENT - CASK STRENGTH (CD by Ant-Zen)
GENEVIÈVE PASQUIER - LE CABARET MOI (CD by Ant Zen recordings)
LUMINANCE RATIO - LIKE LITTLE GARRISONS BESIEGED (CD by Boring
Machines) *
FRANK ROTHKAMM - GHOST OF NEW YORK (CD by
Flux Records) *
GILLES AUBRY - S6T8R (CD by Winds Measure Recordings) *
MIA CLARKE & ANDY MOORE - GUITARGUMENT (CD by Hellosquare
Recordings) *
CANDLESNUFFER - MIMOSA (CD by Hellosquare Recordings) *
GREG MALCOLM - SOME OTHER TIME (CD/DVD by Kning Disk) *
TSUKIMONO - HEART ATTACK MONEY (CD by Kalligrammofon) *
TSUKIMONO - GOTTA SING GOTTA DANCE (7" by Kalligrammofon)
SOLO SENZA TESTA - SKULL OF SADE II (7" by Kalligrammofon)
DEAD LETTERS SPELL OUT DEAD WORDS - SALLY HILL EP (cassette by
Kalligrammofon)
MAURIZIO BIANCHI - ARMAGHEDON (LP by Hot Releases)
RUSSIAN TSARLAG - OPEN CASKET (LP by Hot Releases)
STEFANO PILIA - LAST DAYS VOL. II (7' by Presto!?)
ERIK URSICH - 3048 (CDR by f901) *
MATT SHOEMAKER - WAYWARD SET (CDR by Human Faculties) *
MARINOS KOUTSOMICHALIS - PERIPATETIC (CDR by Agxivatein)
MARINOS KOUTSOMICHALIS - TREVOR JONES STUDIO SESSIONS VOL 1(CDR
by Agxivatein) *
SKARABEE - TLON (CDR by FBox Records) *
SINDRE BJERGA - ELECTRICAL CENTRIFUGE (CDR by Straite Cortex)
*
DAEVE - CRUSHED FRAME, BLANK PHOTOGRAPH (CDR, private)
MARK BRADLEY - SHIMMER (3" CDR by Dust Wind Tales)
TOY BIZARRE - KDI DCTB 216 [DATA #4] (3"CDR by Ingeos) *
+ announcements
VIV - SEA SHELLS LISTENING (CD by Pebble)
In Vital Weekly 592 I reviewed a self-released 3"CDR by a
band from Brighton called Vole. Now they are renamed Viv (spelled
as viv) and I learned that the members of Viv played in such bands
as Willkommen Collective, Hamilton Yarns, The Mary Hampton Band,
Collectres and the Tacet Ensemble. Here the music is a bit more
extended which gives a much clearer idea of what they do. Well...
clearer... that is to say... not really. Viv is one of the stranger
bands I heard recently. I hear a trumpet, marimba, drums, cello
and/or various other stringed instruments or percussive ones.
The music is one of the stranger mixtures of jazz, improvised
music, a bit of folk, modern minimal music but also hardcore free
jazz or even a bit of (acoustic) noise. Electronics seem to be
gone here (if they were present at all on the previous release).
Cinematic music at large, and every track has its own mood and
style, and each of them catches the listener by a small surprise.
It makes this quite a mixed bag of music, that somehow however
makes quite a lot of sense. Nice mood music. (FdW)
Address: http://www.radioviv.com
AARKTICA - IN SEA (CD by Silber Records)
VLOR - SIX-WINGED (CD by Silber Records)
Although 'In Sea' is the sixth album by Jon DeRosa, I believe
its the first time I hear this name. In 1999 he became deaf at
the right ear and started to re-think what he was doing. He took
classes by LaMonte Young and Marian Zazeela to learn how to hear
without using your ears and started the Aarktica project. The
title 'In Sea' is of course a nod to Terry Riley's 'In C' and
is mostly an album of drones. The guitar takes the lead here,
wether its played with an e-bow, with a cello bow, plucked or
chords: everything feeds to delay and reverb machines to create
that much needed endless sustain on the sounds in order to apply
for that drone tag. On a few occasions DeRosa sings, which is
nice, since it breaks the album a bit. Necessary I'd say to break
up the album a bit, since after a while, a repeat action leaps
in, and one could think: yeah, well, I heard this bit already
in a slightly different form. Either De Rosa should think about
doing longer tracks or a bit more variation, or simply make a
shorter album.
Back in Vital Weekly 530 we discussed Vlor's 'A Fire Is Meant
For Burning'. It was the relaunch of Vlor as vehicle for 'music
by post'. Guitarist Brian John Mitchell sends out his playing
for other to complete. An even bigger line-up this time around,
including Jon DeRosa (of Aarktica), Mike vanPortfleet of Lycia,
Nathan Amundsun (Rivulets), Jessica Bailiff, Paolo Messere (6
P.M.), Annelies Monsere, Martin Newman (Plumerai and Goddakk),
Mae Starr (Rollerball, Moodring), Jim DeJong (The Infant Cycle),
Micheal Walton (Mvvm), Brian McKenzie (Electric Bird Noise, Something
About Vampire And Sluts), Micheal Wood (also of Something About
Vampire And Sluts and The Wet Teens) and Magen McAvenney. This
must not be understood as a remix album, but Mitchell laying down
the groundwork for a piece, and his guests add their own vocals,
cello, melodica, piano, or strings (or whatever else), to complete
the songs. Sixteen pieces in some forty-five minutes may mean
a nice average length of three minutes (pop! length), but some
of these pieces are mere sketches of post rock/noise/improvisation,
which is a pity. But then a piece like 'She Goes Out With Boys'
sounds like a real song. One could wish there would have been
more pieces like this here and leave the schematics behind. Maybe
that should be instructions for the next Vlor release. Still,
altogether this is a pretty nice release again. (FdW)
Address: http://www.silbermedia.com
ANDUIN - ABANDONED IN SLEEP (CD by Smtg
Limited)
About a year ago I was first introduced to the music of Jonathan
Lee, also known as Anduin (see Vital Weekly 638). He's a member
of Souvenir's Young America, and on a solo mission he plays dark
ambient music, with the help... I don't know. Guitars me think
and a lot of sound effects. This album is the result of touring
for a year, recording in various studio situations, live excerpts
and collaborations. We find here also Xela, Stefan Nemeth (Radian,
Lokai), Dag Rosenqvist (Jasper TX), Noah Saval (Souvenir's Young
America), Erik Skodvin (Svarte Greiner, Deaf Center), Gareth Davis,
Stephen Vitiello and Slow News Day. Many of my objections to the
previous record, also counts here. The music is surely alright,
but also a bit faceless. Many peers do the same sort of thing
(like said, Voice Of Eye, Illusion Of Safety, Yen Pox, Kirchenkampf
or Troum), and while Anduin plays shorter pieces that is also
the weakness of the album: some of these pieces sound like the
start of something great coming, but rather stick to what they
are. Brief moments of some sound material, which could be start-up
of track or that needs some seriously composing. Altogether I
didn't think this was a bad album, but it has certainly some interesting
music on it, some great dark textures, but also a potential that
isn't fulfilled here. (FdW)
Address: http://www.smtgltd.com
BLACK TO COMM - ALPHABET 1968 (CD by Type
Records)
The new album of Black To Comm (Marc Richter of the Dekorder label's
own musical outing) is something of a step forward. In his previous
work, which I am sure I didn't hear all, the drone in long form
prevailed, but here he plays ten tracks in some forty five minutes.
At his disposal are a home made gamelan, small instruments and
loops gathered from a collection of ancient vinyl and 78 rpm records.
An odd collection of shorter songs ('for want of a better word'
Richter says), which drifts in all kinds of directions, world
music, drones, techno and modern classical, that perhaps on paper
doesn't seem to make much sense, but the album is oddly enough
quite coherent. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the pieces
are all quite densely layered. No track here seems to consist
of just a few sounds and loops, they seem massively stacked together.
When things become more noise based, such as in 'Void' its less
exciting, but the scratchy orchestral loops of 'Hotel Friend'
or the kick drum of 'Forst' along with glissandi of strings (reminding
me of Gas actually) are very good. A great album, not a daring
move from the old Black To Comm actually, but a further expansion
on the music he already did. A road to explore further, I should
think. (FdW)
Address: http://www.typerecords.com
ANGUS CARLYLE - SOME MEMORIES OF BAMBOO
(CD by Gruenrekorder)
Germany's Gruenrekorder label sometimes has money to burn - well
sometimes. Maybe the artist chips in some money too? I never heard
of Angus Carlyle, but apparently he visited the Kami-Katsura,
a small suburban district of Kyoto, Japan and recorded there this
work, in thirteen scenes. Each of them comes with a description
of the specific site, which is nice to read, but of course doesn't
compare with seeing the real thing. Its not an area I visited,
I think, when I was in Kyoto. Like so many of the Gruenrekorder
releases, this one too deals with pure, unprocessed field recordings.
Very tranquil, this particular neighborhood, I assume, as most
of these pieces consist of very few sounds. Bird twitter, a car
passing, few human interaction, water sounds and that's it. Surely
nice to hear, but I wonder: by whom? I think, I prefer that people
compose with sounds like this, rather than present them as they
are. Surely nice enough though. Made me wanting to go back to
Japan. (FdW)
Address: http://www.gruenrekorder.de
MARILYN LERNER & MATT BRUBECK &
NICK FRASER - UGLY BEAUTIES (CD by Ambiances Magnetiques)
MANKIND - ICE MACHINE (CD by Ambiances Magnetiques)
CHARITY CHAN - SOMEWHERE THE SEA AND SALT (CD by Ambiances Magnetiques)
NORMAND GUILBEAULT ENSEMBLE - HOMMAGE A MINGUS (CD by Ambiances
Magnetiques)
A very mixed bag from Ambiances Magnetiquers this time. A solo,
a duo, a trio and an ensemble work will pass by in this review.
First the soloalbum "Somewhere sea and salt" by pianist
and improvisor Charity Chan. Chan studied and plays classical
and modern repetertoire, but she focuses mainly on improvised
music today. The piano is her tool. She uses all kinds of objects
to trigger unheard sounds, timbres and resonances from the piano.
With this wide palette of possibilities she carefully choses the
sounds, etc. she can use. Not just to demonstrate a bunch of extended
techniques, but in function of a minute and detailed research
into all the subtleties between the different sounds that can
be generated from the piano. This, sometimes in a way that it
is hard to imagine that the sounds come from the piano. As a result
Chan creates a diversity of moods and textures, sonic landscapes
that one loves to explore.
Mankind is the name of a duo that started in 2006 comprised of
Alexis O'Hara and D. Kimm. They combine sound poetry, noise improvisations
and ambient plus performance into something of their own. Ice
Machine, is the first result from their work.
On stage the two multitalented, interdisciplinary performers use
costumes, video projections, etc. to complete their multimedia
art. It has been a long time ago since I found a manifest by the
artists inside a record. But here we have one: "we are fresh
and naïve, curious and open to all discipline, media, philosophy
or technique. That said, we have an opinion on everything and
will speak it regardless of whether it is asked of us." And
so on. Although there french poems are not comprehensible for
me, there is enough to be enjoyed here. They create intriguing
soundscapes in an lo-fi and trashy manner. Very noisy ones like
in the instrumental "My favorite Agression", with drones
like in "Post-Colonial". "Charming" is almost
a poppy song and "The anti rules" a chanson.
We continue with the trio of Marilyn Lerner (piano), Nick Fraser
(drums) and Matt Brubeck (cello). Fraser moved from Ottawa to
Toronto in 1996 and developped himself into a very busy and active
musician who has played with a long list of musicians. Brubeck
is a performer specialized in improvisation on the cello. So most
of his work is within field of jazz and improvisation. However
he played also for many years with Waits, plus Dixie Chicks and
Sheryl Crow. Lerner is a reputed pianist and improvisor of worldwide
fame, working in the worlds of jazz, improvisation, klezmer and
20th century classical music. Besides she composes for film, theatre,
radio and television. They recorded their first one in may 2008
in a Toronto studio. It is made up of collective improvisations
plus compositions by all three musicians. "Ugly Beauties"
makes you forget the differences and boundaries between jazz,
contemporary classical music and improvisation. These are are
very virtuous musicians who demonstrate their talent in a very
coherent way with engaging interplay. The pieces focus on different
musical aspects. This way the trio shows many faces. The opening
track "Windsor" is one of the most odd grooving pieces
I have ever heard. "Oubliette" comes from another planet,
and is a very lyric jazz improvisation. "Harold Lloyd"
plays with rhythm and switches from modern classical to jazz and
backwards. Other pieces are very free improvisations, leaving
jazz idiom, etc behind. So their explorations go in many directions,
implying that there is a lot to discover on this one.
To conclude the Normand Guilbeault Ensemble. With an earlier CD
in mind of this ensemble, "Mingus Erectus", their new
one is again dedicated to the work of jazzgigant Charlie Mingus.
In a line up of six musicians plus guest a singer (alt and baritone
saxes, flute, voice, clarinet, bass clarinet, trumpet, fluglehorn,
piano, drums, doublebass) they interpret six compositions by Mingus.
It is a very demanding and heavy kind of jazz. It not so easily
opens itself up for the listener. The music is very intense. But
there is also room for humor and charm. The piano solo in "Prayer
for Passive Resistance" is hard to resist. It is difficult
for me to judge how this combo actualizes the music of Mingus,
but for sure not in a conservative retro way. (DM)
Address: http://www.actuellecd.com
IF, BWANA - 31 (CD by GD Stereo)
Al Margolis still hangs on to his If, Bwana name, which I think
is kinda curious, since in recent years his output has become
much more closely related to the world of modern classical music.
A piece like 'Rushin' Lisa' is such a piece. A Nord Modular played
by Tom Hamilton, the flute of Jacqueline Martelle and the voice
of Lisa Barnard, make a very serious modern classic piece, with
notes bouncing up and down the scale, but in a very gentle manner.
That is the most serious piece, say the current version of If,
Bwana, on this disc, together with 'Ex-ex-ex-eye', which is another
piece for flute and voice. The three other pieces here, all longer,
are more like the old If, Bwana. 'Soiled' for instance is a piece
for 'multi-tracked and processed bowed guitar', a densely woven
drone piece of many guitar sounds that end quite abruptly. 'Fitz
2/3' is also drone like, but more dark, threatening and orchestral.
The heavy version of drones. A synthesis of both ends is in the
middle of the CD with 'Treinta, Juan', which has drones as a backdrop
and more improvised flute playing in the foreground. I must admit
I like the old version better than the newer If, Bwana material,
which I find too serious. I think if Al Margolis decides to continue
as a serious composer, he should drop the If, Bwana name and continue
under his own name and get serious commissions. It may not be
for me, I guess. (FdW)
Address: http://www.gdstereo.com
IMMINENT - CASK STRENGTH (CD by Ant-Zen)
Long time, no see for Belgium powernoise-project Imminent. But
hell, does he return on this one! Imminent is one of the true
legends of the European powernoise-scene, a genre characterized
by the hyperactive blend of up-tempo industrial-techno and abrasive
noise-textures. Originally formed as Imminent Starvation, Oliver
Moreau became one of the important acts in the early days of important
German label Ant-Zen Recordings with his mindblowing debut "Human
dislocation" (Ant-Zen, 1997). After his second full-length
as Imminent Starvation, Oliver Moreau destroyed his mixing equipment
and gave away the pieces as part of a limited edition of the "Nord"-album.
After that he changed his
name to the new moniker: Imminent. Despite the name change and
the many years of silence, Oliver Moreau still knows how to create
sonic earth quakes of furious breakbeat-textures and noisy dronescapes.
Despite the fast development of harsh electronic music over the
last decade, Mr. Moreau makes it very clear on the album titled
"Cask strength" that he has managed to follow the progression
of the scene, resulting in one of his strongest releases to date.
Nail your speakers to the floor and get ready for 64 minutes of
majestic technoid aggression. This album will rock your house!
(NM)
Address: http://www.ant-zen.com
GENEVIÈVE PASQUIER - LE CABARET MOI
(CD by Ant Zen recordings)
Third album out on German label Ant-Zen from French composer Genevieve
Pasquier and the first album from her since 2006. Previous album
titled "Virgin pulses" was a quite harsh beast; new
album titled "La cabaret moi" continues with the excellent
expressional span from technoid avantpop to brutal industrial-based
moments. The dark sphere sets in on a few songs, and the more
you listen, the more this dark layer comes in focus. Especially
early US-Industrial legends such Suicide and Chrome comes to mind
in a few tracks on the album thanks to the minimalist nature.
The strength of Genevieve Pasquier is her powerful voice that,
sometimes being sung other times spoken, works as an excellent
contrast to the icy and momentarily harsh expression of the album.
Excellent! (NM)
Address: http://www.ant-zen.com
LUMINANCE RATIO - LIKE LITTLE GARRISONS
BESIEGED (CD by Boring Machines)
There are three musicians behind Luminance Ratio, two of them
you may know. Eugenio Maggi is better known as Cria Cuervos and
his collaboration with Paul Bradley and Maurizio Bianchi, Andrea
Ferraris of Sil Muir, Airchamber 3, Ur, Ulna and John Russel,
who team with Gianmaria Aprile of Ultraviolet Makes Me Sick and
the Fratto9 Under The Sky label. They are armed with array of
sound devices, such as guitars, cymbals, field recordings, brushes,
contact microphones, drones, turntables and objects. Yet this
album isn't a pure work of drone music, per se. Its rather a delicate
combination of drone music, field recordings, microsound but with
a healthy doses of improvisation too. It seems to me, but I admit
I might be wrong that these are extensive improvisations, recorded
to multiple tracks which were mixed later on. Its Aprile who gets
the credit for mixing here and he did a great job. He leaves the
improvised music in tact, but brings structure to the table, giving
the drones a place to breathe. Great textured music, a delicate
mixture of guitar music with an open strumming, fingerpicking
and slide playing, with gorgeous drones and field recordings.
It makes the whole thing quite loose and open, like fresh breeze
coming in. Excellent release, that ends with Paul Bradley doing
a fine remix using all the separate elements. (FdW)
Address: http://www.boringmachines.it
FRANK ROTHKAMM - GHOST OF NEW YORK (CDR
by Flux Records)
Hot on the heels of last week's 'Alt' release, Frank Rothkamm
now presents the first installment of the 3CD + 1DVD 'Tetralogy'.
In this first work the city of New York plays a central role,
or actually the many people who lived, translated to music. No
ambient music here like last week, but works from the analogue
synthesizer, that depict quite well the hectic of the city, the
crawling of so many people on such as small space. Sounds bouncing
in all directions, but also very occasionally take back control
and we see the contours of mighty sky scrapers, but also of much
smaller buildings. Like always Rothkamm knows how to surprise
me with his music. This particular release wasn't the best I heard
from him I must admit, it sounded a bit too easy, too much like
'Music From Forbidden Planet' type of synthesizer play, but it
has some nice moments. But in his catalogue of music, this is
surely another odd-ball. Odd-ball admitst other oddities.
This release lasts exactly 33 minutes and 33 seconds, in an edition
of 333 copies, and released on 10/10/09 - the next one on 11/11/09
etc. - Numbers are great. (FdW)
Address: http://www.fluxrecords.com
GILLES AUBRY - S6T8R (CD by Winds Measure
Recordings)
Steve Reich is 'Different Trains' connects his own childhood experience
of train traveling with the deportation of the jews in nazi Germany
at roughly the same time. The links of nazis and trains is also
made by Gilles Aubry on his new CD 's6t8r', in which he recorded
the empty rooms of Stralau 68, a former venue in Berlin. To amplify
the sounds he had to put the levels of recording all the way,
thus also capturing the trains outside. The press release reads
about the various cultural meanings of train travel, but I merely
see that in this work as an extra layer of sound. Aubry records
'empty' spaces and then treats the resulting sound into a massive
block of sound. Quite minimal and drone like in the first part,
but the second part, which starts out as an expansion of the first,
develops into an almost musical piece, with sounds bouncing in
and out, almost like a factory starting up, machines being switched
on. A great menacing piece of music. In the third and final part
it seems as water sounds play a part, but no doubt here the trains
play an important role. Quite a great CD of drone music that stems
from the world of field recordings and surely one of the best
works I heard from Aubry so far. (FdW)
Address: http://www.windsmeasurerecordings.net
MIA CLARKE & ANDY MOORE - GUITARGUMENT
(CD by Hellosquare Recordings)
CANDLESNUFFER - MIMOSA (CD by Hellosquare Recordings)
Two sides of the improvised music coin. First there is Andy Moor,
of The Ex fame who teams up with Mia Clarke, or Electrelane of
whom I never heard. In April 2008 they played the Zaal 100 Cafe
and that's about the extend of information we have. Two pieces,
one that;s about twenty minutes and one that is about thirty.
So far the facts. Both play guitar in a pretty ordinary fashion.
No objects on strings, no carefully constructed silence, onkyo
styled improvisation, but a duet of two guitars being played in
a rock fashion. When things leave the rockist path, the strings
are tortured to make strange abstract figures of sound. Otherwise
its' strumming on end, in quite a minimal fashion, like Branca
reduced to two guitars. No wall of sound approach either, but
a strong interplay. Maybe the ride is a bit long altogether, and
could have been say fifteen minutes shorter, but throughout its
a pretty strong album.
Behind Candlesnuffer is David Brown from Bucketrider and from
the trio Pateras, Baxter & Brown, and this new album can be
seen as a companion to 'Wakool', released by Room40 (reviewed
in Vital Weekly 587). He too plays the guitar, but this one is
prepared. He also plays the prepared bandoura, fretless tenor
banjo and prepared ukelele. Again we get that nice clean sound,
as on 'Wakool', and Brown hits, plucks, bends the strings, something
placing an emphasis on a sound by using the footpedal to get a
somewhat longer sustain. Wild as before, but without that somewhat
hidden country & western styled playing as heard on 'Wakool'.
Listening to these twelve pieces its hard to perceive them as
twelve different tracks, its more like one track, which is an
excellent showcase for his talent on two instruments per track.
Like it says on the cover: a record where Candlesnuffer accompanies
Candlesnuffer. Overlaying one improvisation with another one,
creating a not too densely layered sound. I can see a whole future
in this: the next record should have three tracks being overlaid,
and the fourth one, etc. No doubt that will lead to some great
music. I can't wait. (FdW)
Address: http://www.hellosquarerecordings.com
GREG MALCOLM - SOME OTHER TIME (CD/DVD by
Kning Disk)
Normally I'd say this is a bit much. Why have a CD and a DVD,
even when both have different pieces? Why not a double CD, or
a double DVD? I can see however the point of releasing a Greg
Malcolm DVD. I have been telling before but his concert at Extrapool
years ago, is still on one of the best I ever saw there (along
with Arm and Taxi Val Mentek in case you are wondering). I think
I must have raved about that before. Malcolm plays three guitars
at the same time. One in his hands, two on the floor. Those two
are prepared with objects he can play with his feet, to add a
percussive element to his music or to use an e-bow. For me Greg
Malcolm is the genius when it comes to finger picking music and
preparing his guitar. If you have never heard his music or seen
him play, then I suggest to start with the DVD. Malcolm sits in
a room, surrounded by his guitars and toys and shows what he can
do. However its not a display of technique. What matters to him
is the music and the pieces he is playing. Melancholic, careful,
introvert and introspective. He sits and plays his guitar, with
his fingers, with an e-bow, with a ruler, a cello bow, little
motorized objects and more. Blues like, americana, but also improvised
and experimental. Maybe its a bit much to have the DVD and CD
in one go, but let's say on a sunday afternoon you watch the DVD
to see what it is all about and then in the evening, while having
a good glass of wine, you listen to the CD. You are now able to
close your eyes and enjoy the tranquil beauty of the music, all
the time knowing how it was created. Great release. (FdW)
Address: http://www.kningdisk.com
TSUKIMONO - HEART ATTACK MONEY (CD by Kalligrammofon)
TSUKIMONO - GOTTA SING GOTTA DANCE (7" by Kalligrammofon)
SOLO SENZA TESTA - SKULL OF SADE II (7" by Kalligrammofon)
DEAD LETTERS SPELL OUT DEAD WORDS - SALLY HILL EP (cassette by
Kalligrammofon)
One can doubt wether I reviewed all releases by Johan Gustavsson,
also known as Tsukimono, but usually I was taken by his music.
I associate his music with dark ambient with a strong influence
of noise music, but here he takes me by surprise. Eight tracks
on this relatively short album, but what a variety of music. There
are really mean noisy bits, but also piano pieces and even pop
like pieces. The one stand out piece, among an already lot, is
'Gloomy Sunday', with guitar playing and a vocal taken from an
old 78 rpm (I think). What a lovely piece. But the rest is pretty
refined too. This is melancholic music in optima forma. Think
Oren Ambarchi, spiced with a bit of noise and a bit of piano.
So far his best album, as far as I can see.
More Tsukimono on a 7". 'Gotta Sing' on the a-side is a heavy
beast of improvised guitar music, multi-layered to create an intense
sonic overload.
Solo Senza Testa is Jonas Rosen, who was in another life called
Asterik* and Female Anchor Of Sade, both of which I don't seem
to remember well (if at all), but under his new banner he explores
dub music. Both of these pieces are inspired by Marquis De Sade.
'Skull Of Sade II' has a nice bass line, melodica and sounds indeed
like pretty decent dub song, with drums covered in echo. In good
dub tradition on the other side there is a version, which takes
the material even more apart, like a total deconstruction of dub.
Great 7" in the best dub tradition, which will probably never
reach Jamaica.
On a C20 cassette comes a re-issue of 'Sally Hill EP', which was
originally released in 2005 (as a 3"CDR by Kning Disk) by
Thomas Ekelund, who works as Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words.
One could say that Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words is a microsound/ambient
glitch project, which take, like so many others, notions and connotations
from the world of popmusic, in this case sixties girl groups,
which if it wasn't written on the press release, I would have
never figured out. Minimalist drones built from whatever original
pop song, glitchy and refined. Nothing special under the microsun,
but in the hands of Ekelund this is well taken care of. Nice one
indeed. (FdW)
Address: http://www.kalligrammofon.com
MAURIZIO BIANCHI - ARMAGHEDON (LP by Hot
Releases)
RUSSIAN TSARLAG - OPEN CASKET (LP by Hot Releases)
When you reach for super fame, then your work will never be forgotten.
Maurizio Bianchi released 'Armaghedon' by himself in 1984, and
then was re-released on CD in 2000 as part of the second MB boxset
released by Alga Marghen. Now a new life begins - maybe that's
the whole point of an armaghedon I was thinking, with re-issue
on LP by Hot. Maybe its a bootleg? Maybe its relevant. This is
the Maurizio Bianchi I like! Far away from the industrial noise
from his earlier years, he moves here into... post nuclear landscape
music. Below there is the some kind of wicked ambient music, and
on top, yet still pushed to the end another synth pushing sounds
through a delay unit. And perhaps voice material as well. Music
that is utterly minimal, but that is so highly captivating. Along
with 'The Plain Truth' one of the early masterworks. Chilling
music with the impact of nuclear fall-out.
The other LP is by Russian Tsarlag, of whom I don't think I ever
heard. The label says is from the " prolific Providence showman/illustrator/film-maker
Carlos Gonzalez". Its dedicated to Lux Interior and Forrest
J. Ackerman and contains some wicked wacky popmusic. All recorded
through lo-fi means. A bit distorted rhythms, strange synth tunes
and a voice from beyond the grave. It is recommend " To be
listened on headphones at night", which I didn't do, well
at night but without headphones. I can imagine this being creepy
when played to the wrong heads with the wrong substances. If something,
I'd say this is popmusic, but perhaps as we don't hear it too
often. Maybe there is more out there like this, but then I don't
know these. If its anything similar to this wacky stuff, this
outsider view of popmusic, then I'd surely like to hear it. This
album made me very curious. (FdW)
Address: http://www.myspace.com/hotreleases
STEFANO PILIA - LAST DAYS VOL. II (7' by
Presto!?)
On other occasions I may have complained about the fact that the
7" format is not always the best medium for music, but on
this particular instance its very much the right thing. Pilia
is a member of 3/4Hadbeeneliminated, and has worked with Phill
Niblock, Andrea Belfi, Giuseppe Ielasi, David Grubbs and many,
many more. Following an one-sided LP for 8mm Records, which I
didn't hear, there is now the second part of 'Last Days', with
a third part to follow. Two excellent pieces for solo guitar,
'Midnight' and 'Endnight'. Solemnly, in despair. Soft slides,
perhaps only interrupted by some crackles of the vinyl. Excellent
late night mood music at work here. Two rounded off pieces that
work excellent by themselves. If only I heard the previous part
and surely can't wait for the next part. (FdW)
Address: http://www.prestorecords.com
ERIK URSICH - 3048 (CDR by f901)
The name Erik Urisch didn't mean anything at all and the cover
isn't exactly informative too. I think the label is called f901,
but there is no contact address or website mentioned. That's a
pity, since the music is actually quite good. The cover lists
his instruments: EMS synthi AKS, Moog sonic Six, Steiner-Parker
Synthacon, Roland RE-501 and Ibanez digital delay. With these
ancient machines he created an interesting work, one piece only,
of electronic music. Drone like at the hearth, but with a sort
of bleeping rhythm on top, that adds a sort of minimal music idea
to the music. A cosmic trip to the earth's core. Maybe recorded
in one go, as it sounds like its a system set to work. Once started
it will go to certain parameters and bounce back to the start
again, and then follow a similar but not the same trail again.
Spacious music! (FdW)
MATT SHOEMAKER - WAYWARD SET (CDR by Human
Faculties)
"P.s. I love you guys and know you get endless music sent
your way, but can you spell my name correctly on this one. Thanks".
On at least three ocassions we spelled Matt Shoemaker's as Schoemaker,
which means we also spelled it right a few times. No, it has nothing
to do with 'endless' music being sent this way, but its a plain
stupid mistake and seeing how often spell my name the German way
and not the Dutch way, I know how painful it can be. 'Wayward
Set' is a piece which was performed live on July 18th 2009 at
the good shepherd center-chapel performance space in Seattle.
I am not sure if we should believe there is any religious undercurrents
in this music, but throughout this is a great work. Shoemaker
uses feedback drones, modular synth and 'massed sheets of bioacoustic
phenomena' (whatever those might be). He creates another fine
trademark Shoemaker pieces of densely layered electronics, drones
and some field recordings. The music is a bit more roughly shaped
here, perhaps due to the fact that it is microphone recordings
instead of line recording, but I must say it fits the music of
Shoemaker pretty well, that rough edge on the drone thing. Excellent
stuff. He should get over here and play some concerts. (FdW)
Address: http://www.humanfaculties.com
MARINOS KOUTSOMICHALIS - PERIPATETIC (CDR
by Agxivatein)
MARINOS KOUTSOMICHALIS - TREVOR JONES STUDIO SESSIONS VOL 1(CDR
by Agxivatein)
Earlier this year I wrote I never heard of Marinos Koutsomichalis,
but I heard two of his works. 'Chro(m)a' (Vital Weekly 663), which
wasn't bad, but not something I liked throughout and 'Anasiseipsychos'
(see Vital Weekly 677), which I thought was a great release of
excellent drones. I believe he now started his own CDR label and
he released two CDRs to start with. 'Peripatetic' means traveling
from place to place, and stay there for short periods and is also
a reference to Aristotle's practice of walking to and fro while
teaching. Koutsomichalis sees the city as a sound installation
and thus he records the sounds of cities (Amsterdam, Athens, Berlin,
York, London, Vienna, Brussels, Gent, Antwerp, Liverpool, Leeds
and inside means of transport between these places), which he
then puts together in one long piece of music, no indexes, so
we don't know which city we are in. I must say its not a bad work,
but its not a great one either. Pretty decent stuff of field recordings,
ambient sounds from ventilations systems and street sounds. Like
stuff on Gruenrekorder - unchanged field phonography. Nice but
no cigar.
The other release was recorded in the control room of the Trevor
Jones Studio in York, UK and it says in capitals on the cover
'This album has nothing to do with the original Trevor Jones studio
sessions'. For this record he uses supercollidor and a Lexicon
TC 6000 system and 'the focus was on how sound alters the aesthetic
and physical qualities of the site and how it challenges its functionality.
It was an attempt to establish a sonorous architecture within
the room'. This is an electronic work which isn't as good as 'Anasiseipsychos',
but certainly comes close. Great powerful drone music at work
her - caution is needed. Its music that seems to working from
a system. Once set in motion it moves back and forth between certain
parameters, making small changes, seemingly on its own. Powerful
in all its roughness but also in all it's silence, this is great
mood music. Not drones that wash away like ambient music sometimes
does, but forces itself upon the listener and pierce in your head.
Great! (FdW)
Address: http://www.agxivatein.com
SKARABEE - TLON (CDR by FBox Records)
The man behind Skarabee is Stuart Chalmers, of whom I never heard,
which is hardly a surprise: 'Tlön' is his first album. He
uses here a karimba, electronics, contact microphone, bows and
household objects. Although not mentioned on the cover, I assume
from listening that these sounds are recorded through methods
of improvisation onto the computer and then processed and edited.
Microsound is a very apt description of what he does. At times
we recognize the original instruments, but usually its covered
with the extensive sound manipulations of the computer. I must
admit I thought this album was pretty much alright, but nothing
out of the ordinary, save perhaps for some of the improvised doodling
and occasional outburst of sound. That makes this slightly different
than what usually goes in the micro world and makes this altogether
curious about what will come next. Maybe a bit more structure,
a little less obvious click and hiss treatment and who knows?
A small promise for the future. (FdW)
Address: http://www.fboxrecords.co.uk
SINDRE BJERGA - ELECTRICAL CENTRIFUGE (CDR
by Straite Cortex)
Two concerts her by Sindre Bjerga, one of Norway's more active
musicians when it comes to playing live concerts. These two concerts
were captured only weeks ago, on October 6 and 7 in the UK. The
cover kinda cryptic when it says 'electrodiesel played plasma
power density guitar on second half of track two. Both tracks
includes gas cloud sounds made by Terje Paulsen'. I assume the
latter accounts for the drone like background noise on both tracks.
The first plasma guitar thing is responsible for the sonic explosion
towards the end of that track. Bjerga himself plays, I assume
electronics and perhaps an array of small sounds, feeding through
the aforementioned set of electronics. Maybe there is a guitar
too. These two pieces aren't exactly the work of improvisation,
I think, but rather somewhat planned out and executed. There is
some similarity in these two pieces that towards such a plan.
Densely woven sounds of a rather lo-fi improvised nature, with
bluntly thrown objects into the scene. All of these fine trade
marks of Sindre Bjerga, and as such this is just another fine
release to his otherwise extensive discography. Not the best work,
but just fine enough. (FdW)
Address: <arborntolose@msn.com>
DAEVE - CRUSHED FRAME, BLANK PHOTOGRAPH
(CDR, private)
Dear Daeve, the presentation of 2 A4 sheets, ring bound, but without
any (f)actual information looks nice but doesn't say much. I assume
you didn't really investigate Vital Weekly very much, as you would
have learned that we don't review singer song writers. Your guitar
playing and rhythm machine reminded me a bit of Vini Reilly/Durutti
Column, but your songs seemed quite the same throughout. I don't
like the singing. Nothing personal. I don't like singing that
much at all, and for Vital Weekly I like experimental music, electronic,
improvised, noise, ambient - you name it, but not derivates of
popmusic, which is what I call your music. I do understand this
is a disappointing review, but had you investigated Vital Weekly,
you could have known. Yours truly (FdW)
Address: http://www.daeve.nl
MARK BRADLEY - SHIMMER (3" CDR by Dust
Wind Tales)
'Shimmer': the title is an apt one for Mark Bradley's three-inch
opus. At times, these gradual, ambient compositions seem to glisten
like Emeralds under the sun. However, what's glaringly obvious
is that this time-limited format is ill-suited for a drone release
with five tracks on it; call me a purist, but I find that these
sorts of slow-moving, ambient compositions are at their best when
they are allotted a healthy duration in which to unravel. With
that said, 'Shimmer' proves Bradley to be a talented sound artist.
The disc's "Ascension" trilogy is a hypnotic work of
electronic drone; its strongest moment is the brilliant first
part, which emulates the beauty of 'The Tired Sounds of Stars
of the Lid', though Bradley employs a less melodic M.O. Haunting
"Gone" could be the EP's most emotionally salient moment;
in under three minutes, it chills the listener via droning organ
keys, offering nothing more than vague feelings of sadness and
finality. "Dawn," meanwhile, sounds like the sort of
menacing interlude that might pop up on a Warp Records release;
diverging from the formula established by the rest of 'Shimmer',
it's a backmasked version of what could be a reverb-heavy Cabaret
Voltaire track. As is the case with all of these compositions,
whose formless symmetry renders them remarkably pliable, it can
be enjoyed both forwards or in reverse. (MT)
Address: http://dustwindtales.wordpress.com
TOY BIZARRE - KDI DCTB 216 [DATA #4] (3"CDR
by Ingeos)
The cover of this fourth installment shows us some text in a barely
readable font, but the story is clear: Toy Bizarre uses sound
material recorded in one square meter in Australia and creates
twelve sound pieces out of that. This is the fourth one. It made
me think. This piece, like its three predecessors, is a fine piece,
there should be no doubt about that. A musique concrete collage
of various sounds - no doubt written on the cover, but hard to
read - which makes a piece that is at times loud, at other times
soft, but essentially there is also not much difference between
the four pieces so far. What does this mean for the next eight
pieces. That is, I think, a bit of a problem, when choosing such
an elaborate work in twelve parts. Will there be a change, a sudden,
unexpected move from the past? A heavy drone piece, an all soft
piece? To keep this series interesting and be a bit more different,
change is necessary, I think. So far, so good however, and this
fourth one is a pretty strong collage of processed and unprocessed
environmental sounds. (FdW)
Address: http://www.ingeos.org