FREDERIC LE JUNTER – BATEAU FEU (CD by Label Vand’oeuvre/CCAM) *
DESIDERII MARGINIS – SONGS OVER RUINS (CD by Cyclic Law)
PETER BJÄRGÖ – ANIMUS RETINENTIA (CD by Cyclic Law)
ERIC LA CASA – PARIS QUOTIDIEN (CD by Swarming) *
STRYCHARSKI/ANDRIESSEN – GHOST (CD by Bolt Records) *
RAPHAEL ROGINSKI – PLAYS HENRY PURCELL (CD by Bolt Records)
QUENTIN TOLIMIERI – PREPARED PIANO (CD on Creative Sources)
SYLVAIN VAN INIITU & THOMAS COQUELET & QUENTIN CONRATE – MANERIES RAMONANDI
FOURNELLOS (CD by Creative Sources) *
JAMES HAMILTON – XENOLITH (CD by The Keraunograph Organisation) *
NEARLY DEAD – WEATHERED MEAT (LP by Geriatric Records)
JESUS IS MY SON – SOLAH#2 (LP by Ini.itu)
FROGOROTH (LP compilation by Ini.itu)
STROTTER INST. – MISZELLEN (double LP by Hallow Ground)
LAMBS GAMBLE – FAREWELL BODY BAGS (LP on Discombobulate)
FLAMINGO CREATURES – FISCH VERSUCHT DAS SPRECHENLERNEN (cassette on Discombobulate)
EZIO PIERMANTEL – TRE MADRI LUDOPATICHE (cassette on Discombobulate)
TUBULAR BRASS – TUBULAR BELLS (7″ by Static Caravan) *
THE HOME CURRENT (7″ by Static Caravan) *
EAN – REMIXES #1 (7″ by Static Caravan) *
GUY HARRIES – FAULT LINE (CDR by Sombre Soniks) *
FAR RAINBOW – THE POWER OF DEGENERATED MATTER (CDR by The Slightly off Kilter Label) *
RUNE KJAER RASMUSSEN – TURNING SCARS INTO STARS (CDR, private) *
AMK – HOW ARE YOU? I’M OK (cassette by Dokuro)
DEISON – MUTAZIONI (cassette by Dokuro)
VIDEOBASIC – FRAKIBACTER (cassette by Dokuro)
JLIAT – THE SWAN DEVICE (? by Jliat)
FREDERIC LE JUNTER – BATEAU FEU (CD by Label Vand’oeuvre/CCAM)
As there was not a lot of information forthcoming with the CD I looked for some online, and found
the website of Frederic Le Junter. It has his biography in French, English and Dutch, and I am not
sure if these are translations of each other (somehow I suspect not). I am not sure why there was
a Dutch bio, but seeing he was born in Dunkerque, a place where in ancient times people also spoke
a bit of Dutch. Trained as a visual artist, Le Junter creates machines, installations, in which there
is chaos, and complexity but which also represent landscapes and realities. To that end he takes
all sorts of junk and rubbish and plays these in a mechanical way, I think, looking at the various
pictures I found online (and one on the inside of the booklet). The music is quite interesting,
somewhere between mechanical musique concrete, a bit of industrial music and improvisation.
For instance a piece like ‘Ruytingen’ sounded like good ol’ industrial music, dirty, factory like, but
in his music Le Junter never plays the static card; there are not some loops running wild. I was
reminded of Vivenza here. There is always movement in his music. The next piece, ‘Masses 2’ is a
way subtler piece of sparse percussive sounds and is in total contrast with the previous piece.
Thus the CD is built; with piece of hectic sounds, of subtle movements and in ‘Chemin Des Limites’
also with something that resembles a saxophone and which actual people might play, although a
contraption blowing wind in a pipe might also be possible. This is perhaps the improvisation
element in the music, I thought; it returns in a few other pieces. I very much enjoyed all of this. It
seemed like a static and distant sound art release at first but it seemed to combine the best of a
lot of things that I have my interest; minimalism, noise, composition, freedom and installations.
Years of honing skills must have gone into this, and that shows. (FdW)
––– Address: http://www.metamkine.com
DESIDERII MARGINIS – SONGS OVER RUINS (CD by Cyclic Law)
PETER BJÄRGÖ – ANIMUS RETINENTIA (CD by Cyclic Law)
“Songs Over Ruins” was the debut of Swedish producer Johan Levin on Cold Meat Industry, initially
released twenty years ago. It is now available again – after a long period of being out of print – and
Cyclic Law has also issued a limited LP version, which definitely is a first for this album. For those
who don’t know, Desiderii Marginis dables in dark ambient with martial and industrial flavorings,
plus sparse neofolk-ish instrumentation on later records. This was one of the more mellow and
atmospheric CMI releases, although the mood is fairly dark and moody.
To be completely honest, the album sounds a bit dated overall; much more than for instance
your average Brighter Death Now or Archon Satani album from the same period. You might say
that it’s not fair to judge a 20 year old record in such way, but apparently it was deemed necessary
to re-release it, so I feel it’s alright to scrutinise it a bit to see how holds its own nowadays. Also,
back in the day, this record wasn’t revolutionary, nor was its composition or production much
different than any its contemporaries. It has however a very specific atmosphere that made it a
recognisable part of the industrial and goth scene of the late 90s. Levin uses martial percussion,
dark wave synths and repetitive industrial stomps & squeaks to create desolate, often otherworldly
vistas and for a dark ambient producer in 1997 he did that quite well. It is also important to note
that Levin and his contemporaries sounded like this long before (horror) video games did, which
probably consolidates the notion that much of the music is indeed about atmospheric effect.
However, some might be able to appreciate the dated kitschy bits just for what they are, or
perhaps just because they are the exemplification of the sound of the industrial underground of
that era. A glance at the works in the vapor wave realm shows that kitsch is dead hot and that
there might just be a dedicated scene for 90s dark electronica emerging – which then means that
a reissue like this may yet prove relevant to some people, perhaps especially to the ones that
missed it the first time around.
And I have to admit that hearing ‘Ashes’ again struck a chord with me and did make the
album worth listening to again after all this time. On the other hand, had this been the soundtrack
to a game or some horror flick, I might have been able to enjoy it in that context, but as a
standalone thing in 2017, it just kinda bores me. But then most of this kind of music generally
does, so my money is on the vapor goths.
Peter Bjärgö doesn’t require much of an introduction. Formerly know as Peter Petterson,
Bjärgö has an impressive rap sheet as a producer and as founding member of many seminal acts
in the Swedish goth and industrial scene, of which Sophia, Karjalan Sissit and Arcana are probably
the most renowned. Animus Retinentia is his third solo album up-to-date and his second one on
Cyclic Law. Bjärgö aficionados will know what to expect and i have to say that after years without
any of his incarnations on my headphones, this immediately got to me. The album meanders
between mournful piano melodies, majestic percussion and guitar-based ballads, sometimes
accompanied by Bjärgö’s typical dark voice. Needless to say most of it is drenched in a cathedral
of hazy reverb. New to me are the glitchy instruments and beats, but those fit in seamlessly with
the regular sound palette. Moreover, it shows that even now Bjärgö is not merely repeating the
same old recipe. And then this digital wonkiness gives a bit of high end chirp to some of the
tracks that keeps your ears pricked up.
Compositionally some tracks are mere loops (structurally speaking, though the 11th track
is ostensibly built around an actual loop), while others are written all the way through and work
towards some bombastic climax, or dramatic dirge suitable to embellish any heartbreaking scene
in a melancholic motion picture. Close to the end of the album, the tenth track really jumped out
as one of the more potent songs, though the CD, sleeve and documentation still disagree on
whether the title should be “From Agony” or “In Agony”.
All in all a pleasure to have a bit of Bjärgö fittingly decorating these rainy mornings and it
actually does inspire me to dust off Arcana’s Inner Pale Sun for a cheeky afternoon spin too. (PJN)
––– Address: http://www.cycliclaw.com/
ERIC LA CASA – PARIS QUOTIDIEN (CD by Swarming)
Here we have a release of France’s finest when it comes to field recording, mister Eric La Casa, who
this time keep things close to home, the city he lives in, being Paris. A beautiful city no doubt, yet
this is not about the Arc de Triomphe or the Eiffel Tower, but rather about the direct environment
of La Casa, his apartment in the 19th arrondissement, which is not near the centre, so no familiar
tourist audio snap shots there. There are three lengthy pieces here; in the first one La Casa follows
the sounds of the seasons (winter, spring, summer and autumn), while in the second it is about
the surrounding of his apartment (the street, the garden, the alarm) and the final, longest, one is
about being inside, listening to non electrical devices, electro magnetic fields, and the central
cooling system and so on. The release comes with an extensive (CD-sized) booklet of pictures in
which we see the microphones set up and taping the environment. La Casa writes there are no
effects, just editing and that he choose to record sounds in quite a simple way, i.e. no complex
sounds that one normally doesn’t hear. It is stuff you could do as well, but if you would arrive at
an equally interesting release is to be seen. Much of the power of this music goes towards the use
of editing, placing sounds in certain places, maybe doing a bit overlap between them, and thus
create a dialogue between them, and that is something that La Casa is pretty good at. Some of
the sounds are recorded from afar, and gives you the notion of an open space, especially in the
first piece that is the case, which is twenty-three minute rumble of hiss that at one point is brutally
disturbed by thunder. Here the editing is quite ‘slow’, if you get my drift, unlike in the other two
pieces that show more editing, going from event to event, sometimes with an abrupt cut in the
middle. There is also more ‘noise’ in here, especially in ‘Les Evenements Exterieurs’, where we are
witness to some machinery noise in the garden. This is all totally fascinating music, I think, and
best enjoyed with the windows closed so you can fully concentrate on somebody else’s
environment. Maybe it will make you perceive your immediate surrounding, inside the house as
well as outside, in a new way, hopefully. (FdW)
––– Address: http://swarming.free.fr
STRYCHARSKI/ANDRIESSEN – GHOST (CD by Bolt Records)
RAPHAEL ROGINSKI – PLAYS HENRY PURCELL (CD by Bolt Records)
Here’s a thing (or two) I have some trouble with reviewing. With Vital Weekly we cover an extensive
field of music, yet all within experimental, electronic, improvised music, be it ambient, techno or
noise. There is music we get send that falls outside of this, and you could wonder why it is send in
the first place. These two came through Monotype Records, who handle production and whose
releases are certainly up our street. Some of the previous releases on Bolt are in that same area,
but these two examples of (modern) classical music go over my head. On the first we find a
composition by Louis Andriessen, probably the most famous Dutch serious composer alive, and
one by Dominik Strycharski, who also plays recorders on both pieces. His piece is a response to
the Andriessen one, which is called ‘Melodie’. Sebastian Zawadzki plays piano. As you may guess
the Andriessen piece is melodic, minimal and almost fairy tale like, and actually quite nice.
Strycharski,’s piece is all about dissonant sounds, and it is also quite louder, with both players
hammering and blowing away. It is not easy to listen too, dissonant as it is. It is perhaps the kind
of music that gives modern classical music that aura of being unlistenable, but I enjoyed the
intensity of it all.
And if that one is something that is on the outskirts of Vital Weekly, I am really at a loss with
the release of Raphael Roginski playing fifteen Henry Purcell pieces on the guitar, with some voice
and synthesizers by Olga Myslowka and more synths by Sebastian Witkowski. I don’t know much
about Purcel, other than his ‘Abdelazer Suite: II. Rondeau’, which recently popped up in a piece by
Carl Stone and being part of the soundtrack to ‘An Orange Clockwork’. It sounds late medieval
here, early baroque, and sweet, new agey at times (but also with some mild distortion in
‘Saraband#2) and the singing I particularly had trouble with. Maybe there is something that I
altogether miss out here, but I felt at a loss, but also something I couldn’t relate to at all. (FdW)
––– Address: http://www.boltrecords.pl
QUENTIN TOLIMIERI – PREPARED PIANO (CD on Creative Sources)
Following his debut album ‘Piano’, New York composer and pianist Quentin Tolimieri is back with
works for the same instrument, be it in the prepared fashion. That is: the piano itself is tweaked
and ‘edited’ – no edits, effect or overdubs were used in this recording made in the summer of 2016.
To Tolimieri’s credit not only stands his solo debut record, but also a contribution to one of
the best classical albums of 2014: the compilation West Coast Soundings as released by
Wandelweiser; his being a work for cello, clarinet and piano. On Prepared Piano the thoughtful,
contemplative nature of the Wandelweiser-gruppe is evident in quite a keen ear for timbre and
texture; already present in the opening work full of scraping and rasping string manipulation
resembling the sound of tolling bells or chimes.
Percussive and plucked excitement of the strings moves from extremely subtle and barely
present to frantic and energetic. Tomilieri does not seem to be concerned with long string notes
or drone, filling his improvised works with multitudes of tonal (and melodic?) twists and turns,
yet, somewhere between the agitation and twinklings there’s a bottom line ease and peace of
sustained mood; not unlike a cross between painting by Pollock and Rothko. Piano here is turned
inside out and outside in and projects glowing hues and intense washes of timbre; a research in
depth of tone and playfulness of tonal matter. (SSK)
— Address: https://www.creativesourcesrec.com/creative_catalog.html
SYLVAIN VAN INIITU & THOMAS COQUELET & QUENTIN CONRATE – MANERIES RAMONANDI
FOURNELLOS (CD by Creative Sources)
Now that the Ini.itu label is saying goodbye (see also elsewhere), boss Sylvain (who adds Van Iniitu,
which means ‘from Iniitu’, very clever) has time to explore other interests and one of that is a place
in Belgium, in the countryside, where he and his friends have a whole lot of devices and apparatus
waiting for musicians to be used. Sylvain did a session there, in which he played objects and
electronics, along with Thomas Coquelet (harmonium, bass drum, inside piano, objects, contact
microphones) and Quintin Conrate (snare, cymbals, objects). I must admit I had not heard of
these players. Sylvain himself did, as Blindhead, the inaugural release on Iniitu, as well as a piece
on the farewell one (see elsewhere), so I heard a bit of his work with field recordings. The recording
here is ‘an unedited recording of the first improvisation session’, and its some very powerful music
indeed. Most of these thirty-three minutes are quite loud and very direct when it comes to the
recording. A stereo microphone set up and everybody is close by so sometimes the sound is
pretty much distorted of cracking objects, the rubbing of surfaces, the hitting and stroking of
instruments; acoustic abuse plays an important role, but very much also the electronics have an
equally important role, which provide a sometimes drone like background that towards the end,
the last one-third of it, becomes more electronic, quieter and bringing the improvisation into a
wholly different area. Almost like two different aspects of the same thing, which I thought was an
interesting move, albeit one that was probably not planned. Quite an intense release of some
sonic overload, and it raises a few questions; why only thirty-three minutes? Why unedited? Why
not record some more and edit the whole thing in a somewhat longer release? Maybe something
to consider for next time, I thought. (FdW)
––– Address: http://www.creativesourcesrec.com
JAMES HAMILTON – XENOLITH (CD by The Keraunograph Organisation)
Behind ‘Xenolith’ is one James Hamilton, who is ‘discreetly’ active since the mid-80s, and his more
recent output is with various collaborators as The Keraunograph Ensemble, as well as with
Genevieve Beaulieu of Menace Ruine as Preterite and working with John Duncan and Ingenting
Kollektiva. I don’t think I heard of him before but so it goes when one is discreetly active I guess.
Duncan invited him for piece for Hammond organ and video, of with this is ‘both a complement
to and extension’. The press text also says that ‘in order to function as intended, this piece should
be heard at very high volume in total darkness’, but darn it, it’s day time, the sun shines and the
neighbours are at home, so probably it doesn’t function for me properly. In this piece, Hamilton
uses Hammond and Farfisa organs, guitar amplifiers and ‘antique’ treatments, which are sadly not
specified (I’d love to know what that means of course). The first twenty minutes are very high
pitched so even without neighbours I would turn down the volume anyway, but as soon as the low
end kicks in, the volume goes up a bit and the rest of the sixty-three minutes of this work we
remain firmly seated in this drone ride. It moves all over the road, from deep low, to sharp high
and covering a great middle terrain (when another neighbour walked in and said she thought she
heard gas leaking; true incident, happened around the thirty-fifth minute break), and going up to
a mighty crescendo on all dynamic levels at the same time towards the end. Was I ever thinking of
Farfisa and/or Hammond organs? Not for a single second. Only when I returned to think about
what to write and looking at the first lines already jotted down, I realized this. Oh yeah, I was
listening to antique treatments of those likewise antique organs and guitar amplifiers and not
some computer based drone. Right. Never mind. The only thing that sprang to mind was the
current strong work of Coppice, who do similar drone works, but more from an improvised music
perspective. Hamilton spend fifteen months on the realization of this, which might not be
something one hears I would think, but this is surely one mighty drone work. It seems always to
be on the move, with lots of small movements throughout. Should a possibility occur that I can
play this in the dark and very loud, I will certainly try that, but I am already convinced about the
high quality of this work. (FdW)
––– Address: http://keraunograph.org
NEARLY DEAD – WEATHERED MEAT (LP by Geriatric Records)
Sometimes packages come with little notes, like ‘here’s my record, please review’, which I would
think I know since it’s addressed to Vital Weekly, known for reviewing music. This record came with
‘here’s some trash from Canada. Our deepest condolences’. I’d rather have some information about
the band and the music. I could easily do this saying ‘oh well, it IS trash’ and ‘condolences if you
want to hear this’, totally in spirit with their own note. I don’t get this self-loathing. I once got an
e-mail saying ‘you don’t like [bandname]? We always knew’, yet I never heard of the band, so why
approach me with that ‘you don’t like’ thing? Searching for more information on Nearly Dead, I saw
this on their bandcamp ‘the opposite of harm reduction. Shit on everything’. Oh. Apparently this is
‘gutter minded garage punk on 180g grey vinyl. Total run of 137 copies’. Nice full colour cover
though. The music is post punk with some heavy rock influences; not that I could name any in
reference. The saxophone sounds the same through all of these ten songs, which is a pity. Lyrics
are spit out, right into the microphone and the guitar/bass/drums configuration is loud and rocky.
Perhaps this is not really the kind of music that Vital Weekly is known for, and as such maybe not
something we easily would review, simply because we have no clue about ‘gutter minded garage
punk’. Trash? Not really, as I found this all quite enjoyable; except for that saxophone howling its
part somewhere in the background. A fine reminder of good old punk years, so many moons ago.
(FdW)
––– Address: https://nearlydead.bandcamp.com/
JESUS IS MY SON – SOLAH#2 (LP by Ini.itu)
FROGOROTH (LP compilation by Ini.itu)
So, Ini.itu kicks the bucket. You all love to buy LPs, so why didn’t you buy any from this label, or
just the ones you knew already? I am sure economical reasons are the ones to close this venture,
and I think it is a pity. Nineteen releases, with some distinctive design; let’s hope collecting a
complete set of Ini.itu will become a thing in the future and that they slowly will get rid of all of
these release. The outline of the label was “Asian electronics / experimental / drones / reshaping
traditional instruments / & field recordings”, which is showed quite well in their catalogue, ranging
from pure field recordings (Lopez, Dauby, Artificial Memory Trace), to electronics (Courtis),
traditional instrument manipulation (Freiband) and remix of an 80s electronic gamelan project (by
Wieman). A diverse set of releases, but it works wonderfully as a whole label, I think.
Jesus Is My Son, being the musical project of Gregory Duby (in the past a member of K-
Branding, now active with Zoho, and having his own label, FF HHH), and he’s a guitarist. The
previous occasion I heard his music, in Vital Weekly 733, I was not so impressed by it. I didn’t see
the relation between him being influenced by Olivier Messiaen and his solo electric guitar, describing
the music as something of which ‘not a single minute that could really interest me here’. But this
new one, without any guitar in overdrive modus, he plays some interesting folk inspired tunes.
Overall the mood is quiet and subdued. I couldn’t say if any of this is really folk like, but it sure
sounds great. Most of this music sounds rather sorrowful I must say, like’s already foreseeing the
closure of the label, but these six pieces are also melancholic and sometimes just plain sweet. Now,
I would think, such a release ticks of all the right boxes, a man with a guitar, no experiment, limited
edition, LP sized, hipsters of the world unite and get this. No download code. Ah, yes, that’s what
is holding you back. Damn. This is an excellent album!
In the old days labels started with a compilation, Ini.itu decides to end with one. Four artists
act as ‘four amphibian headed horsemen, channelling frogoroth through their sonic veins’ and I
believe in some way these people work together, as I saw a concert listed by them. However here
they have their own musical piece. Dave Phillips kicks off proceedings with a particularly dense and
noisy piece of rainforest recordings from Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Ecuador, Switzerland, and
the latter is where he recorded the guitar and distortion, which he also managed to cramp into
this. Frogs, tree frogs and toads recorded in Taiwan, follow it and also some electronic instruments,
all as recorded by Yannick Dauby. On the other side we have an ‘Anouran Protest Song’ by Slavek
Kwi (also known as Artificial Memory Trace), which is about ‘voicing concern in the face of the
threat of amphibiab chytrid fungus decimating the frog population worldwide, and those frogs,
assuming that’s what I hear, sound quite rhythmical but perhaps pitched down (probably not)
and forming a deep rumble, perhaps not unlike a marching, protest song. Quite a powerful music
piece this one. The last words go out to Sylvain van Iniitu, who, as Blindhead, had the first release
on Ini.itu (see Vital Weekly 649) and now has a ‘maceration at Cannibal Caniche’, also a slightly
more dangerous piece of field recordings and I was thinking that indeed we had no take on the
harshness of field recordings on this label, so perhaps it is only fitting to end on a more furious
note. Sad to see this label wind down, but it has been a very good run and quite an achievement.
And let’s hope they will all turn into collector’s items and some day, somehow there will be a
follow up to all of this. (FdW)
––– Address: http://www.iniitu.net
STROTTER INST. – MISZELLEN (double LP by Hallow Ground)
A few years ago we (Beequeen) were approached by Swiss laptop/turntable artist (and architect –
which is interesting to consider) Christoph Hess, asking us if he could do a remix of a Beequeen
track for a project he was working on. Being the nice boys we are we agreed. And promptly forgot
all about it. Until recently that is, when Hess sent an email out of the blue informing us the album
was actually done and where could he send our copies to. It made me curious as to which Beequeen
track he had requested to use (Stenen des Tijds from the album Der Holzweg – I had forgotten
about that too). In fact Christoph’s mail made me re-listen to quite a few of the old Beequeen
albums recently and having a great time in the process. So thanks for that trip down memory lane
Christoph! But enough of the past, what do we have here on this rather attractive looking release?
And perhaps I need to warn you before you read any further: I am not particularly keen on remixing.
I certainly enjoy certain remixes, but generally I am not convinced they contribute much or
significantly add to an already existing composition. And when they concern my own music, I’m
even more alert – it sometimes feels like giving your baby into the care of an axe-wielding musical
maniac. But hey, you’ve got to keep an open mind. So, Miszellen, a German expression for ‘mixing’,
consists of exactly that: four album sides of remixes. Or perhaps not remixes per se, as Hess may a
turntable artist, he is not a traditional remix artist. He rather opts to rearrange and reinterpret ate
a given track, using the musical structure of a track – bits and pieces, grooves that are treated or
used at a different speed. On Miszellen we find music by the likes of Nurse With Wound, P16D4
and er, Beequeen. I have to admit to not knowing all the original versions of the tracks that are
represented here. In a sense, I also don’t feel the need, as Hess has managed to make the material
his own – the album sounds like the work of Christoph Hess rather than a collection of remixes
from different artists. The album feels very cohesive, like one flowing mood, at times it’s rhythmic
but more often than not it is more like old-school industrial soundscapes. Looped and slowly
progressing. I enjoyed this album a lot and this feeling I get certainly is proof of Hess’ qualities as
a remixer – or recreator if you like. The tracks are all named after their original creators – but their
names are also remixes – clever anagrams (Beequeen turns into Beeeenqu for instance and Stenen
Des Tijds into Snijdende Tests). Pressed on lovely white vinyl, with attention to detail (I particularly
love the four lined poem reproduced on the inside of the cover) and a beautiful cover to match,
Miszellen is an album that has kept me listening for days now. (FK)
––– Address: http://strotter.org/ch_news/index.html
LAMBS GAMBLE – FAREWELL BODY BAGS (LP by Discombobulate)
FLAMINGO CREATURES – FISCH VERSUCHT DAS SPRECHENLERNEN (cassette by Discombobulate)
EZIO PIERMANTEL – TRE MADRI LUDOPATICHE (cassette by Discombobulate)
Discombobulate presents three gems of free flowing brilliance and space music for the present
tense. Flamingo Creatures navigates tactile experiments with sound boxes and various
instrumentations to arrive at mesmerizing slow moving nebulous kraut-ambient like exotic and
quixotic holidays for over-agitated brain cells. Equal bits freaky as it is gentle and quite moving
indeed – transporting in a wonderland not only visited by the infamous Alice. Black and white
appears to be non-extant in this aural diorama of glowing colors – a kaleidoscope of new age of
these present times without any notion or connotation of the muzak and prayer bells usually
connected to this genre. Out there, but just within grasp for us mere mortals back on planet
earth, and also: not too far removed from a semi-acoustic twist on the idiom Gnod employs at
their most spacey and free-form.
Ezio Piermantel’s tape is different fare. His Hörspiel-like sequence of tracks (sometimes
‘songs’) comes across as a blend of Felix Kubin, The Residents and deranged tinkerings of free-
form Beck on a diet of Shit and Shine. It’s all a bit Dada. It’s utterly strange, yet close to (aural)
home enough for comfort. Piermantel maintains a DIY approach to use sound use: i.e. he utilizes
what’s in the kitchen drawer or is strewn throughout the recording room. Paired with clever use
of electronics his construction ooze as much music concrète as they honor the best tradition of
homo ludens in the sonic fields forever unashamed and unbound. Sweltering hot stuff too.
Squeaky noise of what sounds like maltreated electronics and overdriven trumpet merged with
disembodied chanting and a clattering of percussion opens the proceedings on Farewell Body Bags
by Lambs Gamble. This brightly shining slab of fluorescent yellow vinyl takes no prisoners. Arid and
stale airs are filled to the brim with scratches, screams, body blows of bass and freakishly HOT
spices. A heady cocktail for sure, but in no way (too) academic. Lambs Gamble aims for and goes
with gut feeling. Let’s hope the coffee is strong enough to defend itself. The main question is:
‘What’s gestating in there?’ An alchemist’s broth of genuine musical prowess dedicated to full
frontal weirdness, chock full of odds and ends to loose your way in – ocean currents to loose you
feet; lava like rainbows blubbering down a mountain side with waterfalls and unicorns or flying wool
sheep. Toads singing by the side of the pond – on a froggy night. Seems all quite natural too me;
nothing contrived or too thought out and over. Living the life of taking a risk, not giving a shit and
damn well knowing what the funk you’re doing. And when. And how. The Cabaret Voltaire in yellow
absinthe glow glory. (SSK)
––– Address: http://discombobulaterecords.com/
TUBULAR BRASS – TUBULAR BELLS (7″ by Static Caravan)
THE HOME CURRENT (7″ by Static Caravan)
EAN – REMIXES #1 (7″ by Static Caravan)
It was really a no-brainer where to start, having always had a weak spot for Mike Oldfield’s ‘Tubular
Bells’; well, maybe also for Oldfield, as I recommend reading his autobiography from a few years
ago. If you haven’t heard this classic 70s piece, than stop reading and go to online and hear it.
Tubular Brass is a brass band ‘created to perform contemporary music and develop collaborations
with artists from across the musical spectrum’, and with such a name it is logical to kick off with
a release a brass version of the piece that gave them their band name. Within the space of six
minutes they play the iconic first few minutes of the original (which you heard on ‘The Exorcist’
of course), but go a bit quicker through the material and it sounds gorgeous. Do not think The
KLF and their acid brass, but rather a more conventional rendition. Lovely. I believe a double LP is
to follow, for which I can’t wait. The CDR, which I have here, also has three one-minute cuts, the B-
side, perhaps? I am not sure what it means.
On 7″ lathe cut and CDR (basically the 7″ plus two additional pieces) we have Danish Martin
Jensen, who works as The Home Current. He already released 7″s on Polytechnic Youth and he did
remixes for Colleen, Dollboy and Ellis Island Sound. His music is very electronic, techno-y yet also
quite poppy. His rhythm might seem a bit chaotic at times, but it oozes rock in ‘When Waiting
Deadly’, and the synthesizers he spins on top of this have that excellent Kosmische space touch,
which adds in the context of pop an excellent sunny touch to the music. Maybe because it is
actually sunny outside, the first real spring day I guess, that makes this music that gives this
listener a big smile on his face. Jumpy, poppy, a techno intoxicating mix of electronic sounds and
all four pieces are within that three to four minute range, just rounding off those pop credits.
No information on E.A.N.; is it one side Eliza Carthy and the other The Memory Band doing
remixes of E.A.N.? There is nothing on the CDR promo of the 7”, or on the website. The first piece
is electronic with a sort of rap to it, which I don’t get very much. I am lost there. The other side is
quite more interesting I would say, with a melancholic down beat rhythm, and layered wordless
humming moving around more lines of electronic sentiments. In an odd it sounded like that first
song of Radiohead’s ‘Kid A’, whatever it is called, but smoother and without words. Quite nice. (FdW)
––– Address: http://www.staticcaravan.org/
GUY HARRIES – FAULT LINE (CDR by Sombre Soniks)
The previous two occasions I reviewed music by Guy Harries was both a very long time ago (Vital
Weekly 323) and two years ago (Vital Weekly 999), and on both instances it was collaborative
work. The first one was with Meira Asher as Infantry and then with Yumi Hara. Harries has a
background in all sorts of music, from garage rock to political opera, sound art to techno and
he has played with the POW Ensemble and recorded for X-OR, Sub Rosa, Sombre Soniks and Migro.
This is a solo release by him, and probably would be categorized as ‘sound art’, sub department
‘drones’, and maybe sub-sub section ‘noisy’. To that end he uses analogue synthesizer, field
recordings, distorted guitars, vinyl manipulations and wind instruments. The latter may not easily
be recognized in here (except in ‘Lava’ perhaps, in which they are multi-layered), whereas all the
other instruments are easily spotted. There are six pieces here of which the shortest is five and
half minute long and the longest close to nine. In each of these pieces Harries explores the outer
limits of atmospheric drone music; while not overtly noisy, it is at the same time also not music
that lulls the listener into a deep sleep. Harries’ take on drone/atmospheres is that of half asleep
and locked inside a huge factory; you doze off but you can’t sleep and you hear the hissing and
droning of machines around you. You wander around in this hazy state, through all these machine
rooms, hoping none of the faulty electrical wiring, steam lines and other debris will hit you. I
thought this was a most favourable trip that fits the mood of the Ballard story I was reading at
the same time. This was pleasantly spooky, if that is possible. (FdW)
––– Address: http://sombresoniks.bandcamp.com
FAR RAINBOW – THE POWER OF DEGENERATED MATTER (CDR by The Slightly off Kilter Label)
If I understood this correctly, Far Rainbow is a duo of Emily Mary Barnett and Bobby Barry and
previously their music has been released by Linear Obsessional and Zero Wave, and yet not heard
by me. In the Gunfactory Studios in London they recorded this new release. I would think studios
is just a word for a garage, as the recording is one not very well defined line, without much
dynamics and that’s not due to the musical content but thanks to the recording technique.
That’s a pity since what they do would certainly benefit from some better recording or mixing
(or mastering for that matter, the thing that is quite often ignored in these pages). In these
forty-four minutes there is a fine interaction between drums and guitars and a healthy amount
of sound effects to be noted, thus creating a spacious atmosphere. Psychedelic is perhaps the
keyword here, and as the music progresses they descent (or ascend, whatever you wish to
perceive this, ma’an) into ambient drone rock with drum rolls, cymbals sustaining and the guitar
howling through that long line of sound effects. Drums are broken down and played on stands
when the guitar becomes grittier and dronier, crumbled up under the weight of distortion and
perhaps the mood is still psychedelic, but also it has become a tad darker perhaps and less hippy-
dippy. For all the better, I’d say, as I enjoyed this quite a bit. One to play loud (see earlier
comments on the recording quality) or to experience in concert for the real thing, I’d say. (FdW)
––– Address: http://slightlyoffkilterlabel.blogspot.co.uk
RUNE KJAER RASMUSSEN – TURNING SCARS INTO STARS (CDR, private)
This looks like a touched up demo, with a card that is too small for the CD box, and nothing else.
It is a private release, I guess. A hand written note by Rune Kjaer Rasmussen says that he worked
on his for a little more than 2 years on/off in a sound studio at the local music library. It starts
out with singing and I could think that this is some kind of lo-fi take on R’nB singing, but it turns
out this sort of multiple layers of singing is what this album is about. Rasmussen sings songs,
and in each of these songs he just uses his voices, very little anything else, but I would believe
some electronic treatment, such as reverb and harmonizing. It is actually not really R’nB like but
just what it is, is harder to define. Certain songs sound pop like, a cappella pop albeit, but also
sound poetry comes close, and a bit of experiment. No doubt text play an important role, but I
am not sure what as the pointing out of poetry in song lyrics is not my forte. While I didn’t like
each and every song here, and at fifteen of these I thought also a bit too long for what it is in
terms of variation, a small amount of these pieces were quite lovely. At the same time, I think
Vital Weekly might not be the kind of place for this kind of music; and I realize I might be totally
wrong. (FdW)
––– Address: none given
AMK – HOW ARE YOU? I’M OK (cassette by Dokuro)
DEISON – MUTAZIONI (cassette by Dokuro)
VIDEOBASIC – FRAKIBACTER (cassette by Dokuro)
Here’s another trio of cassette releases by Italy’s Dokuro and the first one has thirty minutes of
music by Anthony Michael King, short AMK, and since the mid 80s owner of his own Banned
productions. Since many years his interest lies in the use of montage; sounds from cut-up flexi
discs, fields recordings and vinyl sources and that has brought quite an impressive amount of
releases so far, not all of which have been reviewed by your weekly. On this new cassette we hear
all of these interests, and it works out split into two sides. The second brings us a live recording
with the help of Damion Romero, Elden M, Geoff Brandin and Matt Purse, and is the noisier side of
the work AMK does. Lots of turntable abuse on this side and it’s all pretty chaotic. I assume it is
the kind of music that works in a live context pretty well, but at home I am less convinced. For
the subtle approach towards field recordings, layered cut-ups of flexi discs and vinyl, which one
finds on the other side is of more interest, simply because it works better for home entertainment.
Put the live stuff for free on Bandcamp and keep the good music available on cassettes is my
advice. Those four pieces on the first side sound great and could have lasted longer, as far as
I’m concerned.
Deison was recently in this rag with his co-release with Mingle, this time he’s on his own.
Much of his work is with others, so perhaps it’s not easy to say what his work is about. On this
new release we find Deison in a particularly contemplative mood. The music is very quiet, made
of a few loops of electronic sounds, a bit of sound effects and floating about very quietly. Along
with many of the harsher sounds on this label, this is something quite different. Deison’s music
is even spooky at times and with a sense of impending danger. Music that could be called ambient,
music to relax by, but all the same could also be the soundtrack to a horror movie, if you catch
my drift. Against that latter notion of course is the fact there is no quick ending, crashing into
another scene with some scary violin music. I enjoyed many of Deison’s earlier music, but with
this new one I enjoy it even more. There is some beautiful poetic tension in this music and I think
I would rank this among his best releases so far.
Lastly there is Videobasic, a dup of Michele Mazzani (Dona Ferentes, Gelba, Lonktaar,
Cavelonte Editions) and Gabriele Gotini. Apparently they are also working a C-Luet, ‘a silk
screening art project’. They deal with lo-fi field recording, tape, and ‘monophonic oscillators
glissandos and ambushes of hum SID 6581′ (I am quoting the label here, as I have no idea what
that means). All of this is rather low in volume, which is a pity (unless it is intentional of course,
hard to say), which takes away a bit of the joy of listening. In itself these sounds are not necessarily
low in volume, it is just that it is al recorded very low. What are they hiding, I wonder? If anything
at all of course. The music is mostly collage like, moving back and forth between found sound
from old cassettes and those lovely little synthesizers. Nice enough, but I could have done with
some more level on the sound department. Maybe I would know better what to write then also.
(FdW)
––– Address: http://dokuro.it/
JLIAT – THE SWAN DEVICE (? by Jliat)
The ‘?’ means I am not entirely sure what I am reviewing here; I got a DVD-R that says ‘Jliat, The
Swan Device – first series. Information/Promotional DVD’, so it seems our esteemed colleague
doesn’t know we are only accepting the ‘real’ thing, but in this case the ‘real’ thing is “3 ‘objects’
or ‘Devices’, each of which contains 2 read only USB drives with sound files of 3.9 GB, being 69.4
each”, which is a little less than six days, so I am sure had I got that, I would probably not have
heard this either. “These objects or devices were created from materials such as redundant
computer parts, resin, steel, copper, oil paint, wood and polyester resins”. On the DVD there is
an eight-minute explanation and an eight-minute ‘specimen sounds of the harsh noise produced
by custom software’. This DVD bit you can also watch online at the Jliat website. This is perhaps
not a ‘review’ but an ‘advertisement’. (FdW)
––– Address: http://jliat.com