VARIOUS – .AIFF (Compilation CD by 12K)
DINO – STATIC SLOP (CD by Static Fuse Box)
NORI – 21056 (CD by Bathyscaphe)
INFORMATION – ARTIFACTS (CD by Beatservice Records)
ASMUS TIETCHENS/VIDNA OBMANA – MOTIVES FOR RECYCLING (CD by Soleilmoon)
DR. SAMUEL J. HOFFMAN AND THE THEREMIN (3 X CD on Basta)
LUXURY – FANTASTIC PLASTIC MACHINE (CD/ 2×12″Vinyl on Bungalow)
VARIOUS – .AIFF (Compilation CD by 12K)
After compiling the Microscopic Sound CD on Caipirinha Music, Taylor
Deupree has now released another microwave compilation on his own label. It
comes in an excellent cover, well suited for the music presented: minimal,
but very juicy (actually it’s the same as the 12K logo, which is yet
another very very neat feature of this CD). Collected on this CD are 9
tracks from Mr. Deupree himself, Komet, *0, Shuttle358, Klip, Kim Rapatti
and Goem. Most of these names will ring bells with many of us (and if not,
get this CD). Taylor Deupree starts off with a sneaky track using fast
ticks and very low basses and a lot of interesting sounds inbetween.
Especially the stuff in the background is very well done indeed. Komet
follows with a similar track, but building up more to something almost
danceable. This piece has an extraordinary clarity and is pretty funky. *0
is next with a track using only sinus waves and a little pink noise
(probably created by the interference of hi & lo sinuses). Piercing your
ears and messing up your bowels, this one. Shuttle358 gives you some time
to relax again: sweet synths take you to the dreamy state beyond. And after
that we can stay relaxed. Klip uses fluty synths and a lot of reverb to
keep us in this state of immateriality. The next track is another one by
Komet and gently urges us to get up on our feet again and from then on we
can really get moving. Kim Rapatti’s bass works very well with the ultra
clear synth bells, creating a shifting pattern, that reminds me of early
minimalist computer experiments. Taylor Deupree takes it from there: clear
beat, clear synths and a very good break after 2 minutes. Goem closes this
compilation with a track that will test the lower frequency range of your
sound system.
The CD as a whole is put together very well; the tracks combine very well
and their order makes for excellent listening. (MR)
Adress: www.12k.com
DINO – STATIC SLOP (CD by Static Fuse Box)
One Dino Tsagarakis produced the twelve tracks on this CD and besides his
name the twelve titles and the name of the studio, the cover doesn’t hold
much information. The music is kinda like what you what you can image if I
say ‘fucked drum & bass’. Strange, sometimes childisch melodies which are
played over drum & bass things. Kinda like recent doodlings by Richard D.
Aphex Twin James. Towards the end it became just a little bit more
‘industrial’ (as in ‘I Love Your Mind’). Hey not that this a bad copy,
actually it’s well entertaining throughout it’s 70 minutes of playing time.
What else can be added? (FdW)
Address:
NORI – 21056 (CD by Bathyscaphe)
A frenchman with amnesia, recovered in Japan presenting his first album…
some parts of the previous sentence may be true. His music is hard to pin
to some style, as it washes between various styles. In general the tone is
dark, ambientesq, tracks are relatively short (in case some cases 30
seconds or so), and have small doses of rhythms, which, I guess, you could
classify as illbient or trip hop. In general not a bad album, but a little
bit too thin to hold ones attention throughout. It’s a bit slow, too
fragmetaric to satisfy throughout. (FdW)
Address: <lstockli@club-internet.fr>
INFORMATION – ARTIFACTS (CD by Beatservice Records)
Ah Norway – home of beautiful girls and Biosphere, grandmaster of ambient
music. One half of Information played with Mr. Biosphere, so it may not be
a very big surprise that Information has a large base in Ambient too. The
opening track ‘Enormous Complex’ is a long wash of rotating sound and low
synth interference. After that the beat goes up, not much but moderate.
Much of these pieces would be hip ambient house, but by today’s standard
it’s so so (meaning not bad, but not very fresh and new). Just the average
nice music to pass time with. (FdW)
Address: <vidarh@beatservice.no>
ASMUS TIETCHENS/VIDNA OBMANA – MOTIVES FOR RECYCLING (CD by Soleilmoon)
About 10 years ago a small cassette-label called Korm Plastics released a
cassette, ‘Linea’, by Asmus Tietchens, who had gained some fame with
records on Sky Records, A-Mission and United Diaries. ‘Linea’ was turned
down by a US label, because it was too minimal: two long pieces created by
a small rhythmbox and synth lines into a straightforward manner. With the
disappearance of the medium cassette, this release went into obscurity. But
thanks to the recordable CD technique, it got it’s second life, on a CDR in
a digital cleaned version. All of this wouldn’t been written here (for many
obvious reasons, and in case you don’t know these: don’t worry), but
‘Linea’ just a third life too. If you are devoted Asmus’ work (and why
not?), then you know much of his work is based on recycling. That is, in
case you didn’t arrive here on an industrial wave, a kind of remix. A
specific sound or sounds are taken from the original works and treated in
studio (an instrument in itself) and transformed into a new work, wether or
not the original can be recognized. Normally it’s Asmus doing his thing
using sounds from others (like PBK, Arcane Device or Vidna Obmana), but
here good ol’ Vidna Obmana takes his turn on two of the orginal masters by
Asmus, one being ‘Linea’ and the other is ‘Nachtstuecke’, Asmus debut LP
from 1980.
It helps to be familiar with the original works, even though Nachtstuecke
is not yet available on CD, but Vidna Obmana effectively does his thing.
Stretching the original into thick drones of buzzing like synths that
sounds like Vidna of some years back (and in fact my favourite Vidna area).
The original dissappeared entirely under the aural carpet woven by Vidna
Obmana, andhe has created a hauntingely beautiful work that equally matches
the originals. To complete it, we have to wait until someone finally
releases the original ‘Nachtstuecke LP. (FdW)
Address: www.soleilmoon.com
DR. SAMUEL J. HOFFMAN AND THE THEREMIN (3 X CD on Basta)
This is a beautifully detailed re-release of music composed by Harry Revel
and recorded by Dr. Hoffman (no relation) between 1947 and 1950. A ‘foot
doctor’ by day and violinist/band leader by night, Sammy first warmed to
the Theremin in 1936 thinking it would make an interesting novelty
instrument to use during his gigs as Hal Hope and his Swing Orchestra at
the Hotel Montclair in New York, back in the days when dinner cost $1.50.
The Theremin was used as early as the 1920’s in film music, it’s howls and
growls were ideal support for scenes of terror, mystery and the macabre. It
even featured in Shostakovich’s score for the 1931 film ‘Alone’ (gotta find
that one, fer sure!), Max Steiner used it in his score for the original
‘King Kong’, although I fail to hear it in the John W. Morgan’s
reconstruction which was recorded by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra in 1996.
Guess I’ll have to snout out the ‘original’ original. When Miklos Rozsa was
scoring the music for Hitchcock’s film ‘Spellbound’ he needed a ‘new’ sound
to ‘characterise the haunting waves of paranoia that recur through the
drama’. Phoning the musicians union in Hollywood he was told there was only
one ‘thereminist’ in town – yep, Dr. Hoffman, who had moved to the West
Coast 4 years previously, and who had seriously been entertaining the idea
of not performing anymore and dedicating his life to ingrowing toenails,
corns and bunions. Hoffman’s ability to sight read music coupled with his
precise playing and musical ear, and his willingness to dust off his
electronic device meant that the soundtrack could be composed and performed
as Rozsa had intended. The ‘Spellbound’ score won an Oscar and the Theremin
achieved instant star status as the perfect representation of an unbalanced
mind. More scores were written for it and the Doctor suddenly became a very
busy man, performing live with large orchestras and making regular radio
appearances to explain how he made music with controlled static – not that
anybody really cared for the technical explanation of course, being more
interested in seeing him hypnotise his instrument.
Of course it wasn’t long before the moguls with big cigars smelt the smoke
of even more expensive tobacco, and so it was that, in 1947 Capitol Records
issued ‘Music Out of the Moon’, a set of three 78 r.p.m. discs which
featured the Theremin together with Harry Revel’s music conducted by Les
Baxter. It outsold anything to date, so obviously it was necessary to
release a follow-up quite quickly. Light, sparkling music was the order
ofthese postwar days and the slightly disturbing music on ‘Music out of The
Moon’ was succeeded by six tracks, once again on three 78 r.p.m. discs
titled ‘Perfume Set to Music’. This was music inspired by fragrances which
transposed themselves into melodies in Revel’s mind. Les Baxter was once
again included as an arranger and Corday, the perfume manufacturer forked
out a massive $25,000 for a national advertising campaign. For one week,
‘Perfume Set to Music’ hovered at the Number One slot above Bing’s ‘Merry
Christmas’ album. The music was softer, more seductive with sweet melodies
and exotic instrumentation and it remains a milestone in the history of
‘Lounge Music’. ‘Music for Peace of Mind’, released in 1950, was the last
set in the series. The orchestration was in the hands of Billy May this
time, and the Theremin was multiple tracked to create the idea of a trio.
Once again it sold well.
Dr. Hoffman still had time to tend to his patients and take on loads of
movie work. He featured heavily on Bernard Herrmann’s brilliant soundtrack
for ‘The Day The Earth Stood Still’ (1951), and was called in time and
again to ‘sprinkle his chills in sci-fi pictures’. His workload started
diminishing after 1960, perhaps because of the development and increasing
use of more sophisticated modular synthesisers with their wider palette of
sonic colours. Still he was once (mistakenly) credited as the inventor of
the Theremin and maintained regular TV appearances up until his death in
1967 – overwork made his heart explode. It’s now fifty years later and
still this music is capable of conjuring up images and emotions in even the
most hardened lifer. Endless accolades to reissue producer Gert-Jan Blom
who has, in the past, been responsible for a number of other superb
productions – indeed it was he who once again drew the attention of those
who give a toss to the work of tireless French composer, arranger and
conductor Andre Popp, when he supervised the re-release of “Delerium in
Hi-Fi’, which was originally recorded in Paris
in 1957, and re-mastered for posterity in 1987. (It’s also available on
Basta, by the way.)
This ‘Theremin’ boxed set is a wonderful thing – original covers and liner
notes are faithfully reproduced and there is a very detailed booklet which
says, mercifully, less about the instrument and more about it history in
the hands of one of the great masters, Dr. Samuel Hoffman, Chiropodist
(which is where I gleaned almost all of the information in the preceding
text!).
By the way, the last time I saw someone play the Theremin was at The
Melkweg in Amsterdam – Japanese whizz kid Cornelius (his musical madness
can be found on Matador – check out the recent remix CD’s) not only used it
as an exciter; he also performed a version of ‘Love Me Tender’ on it as
accompaniment to the silenced film footage of the Pelve. And yea, it
knocked the snot out of some of the designer types who use it for an
occasional whoop or wolf-whistle during their highly
conceptualisedconceptualized, yet somehow still entirely boring stage
performances.
Oh Yes! Can anyone tell me how to get a copy of the Clara Rockmore
recordings – maybe one of you has a copy you really feel compelled to send
to me: my e-mail is below.Thanks (MP)
Address: http://www.basta.nl
LUXURY – FANTASTIC PLASTIC MACHINE (CD/ 2×12″Vinyl on Bungalow)
If you’ve been reading these pages regularly, you’ll hopefully have noticed
my recent and effusive semi-retrospective on Bungalow, a Chermann label
displaying peerless taste in music and in selecting their contacts in
Japan. They brought out a compilation of two CD’s released in Japan by
Yasuhari Konishi of Pizzicato Five on his label ‘********* records, tokyo’
just before the end of last year, and have now added another feather to
their cap. It’s the second full-length CD by Fantastic Plastic Machine,
real name: Tomoyuki Tanaka, who is ably assisted by a certain Masaki
Tsurugi on arrangements and keyboards. Mr. Tanaka’s first CD, which came
out last year was an amazingly refreshing trip through an encyclopedia of
recycled samples culled from all that might now be considered ‘Easy Tune’.
And of course there was the floor-filling remake of Joe Jackson’s ‘Stepping
Out’ which has, by now at least, hopefully occupied some of your listening
and twisting time. ‘Luxury’ continues where ‘FPM’ left off, not least
because of it’s inclusion (twice !) of a bossa nova version of the
Eurythmics hit ‘Must Be Looking At An Angel’, which also appeared a while
ago as a CD Single. Vocals on this issue from the throat of London-based
entertainer Lorraine Bowen. There’s ‘Electric Lady Land’, vocals by Yukari
Fresh, who has herself appeared a couple of times on Bungalow releases
(check out the ‘Sushi 3003’ & ‘Sushi 4004’ compilations of Japanese club
pop and the recent remixes of the Stereo Total track ‘Holiday Innn’ – a
double 7″, which prompted me to write about Bungalow before). ‘Electric
Lady Land’ is an excellently mad and thoroughly infectious track…’I’m
your Lady Machine, Cybernetic Supreme…The automated girl of your
dreams…’ . Ms. Pinky anyone ?
The words and their subsequent rendition in ‘Bossa for Jackie’ are by Simon
Fisher Turner, the folk in Gentle People add vocals here and there too, and
Andreas Dorau, who I don’t know enough about yet, contributed German lyrics
and vocals to ‘Lotto’. Hauntingly familiar samples are cunningly
incorporated throughout this whole CD in ways which once again make the
case for copyright infringement. A true exercise in international de- and
re-arrangement which, thanks to all of the collaborators and superb
production cuts through loads of the murk to float majestically at the top
of the heap. No doubt there are a bunch of remixes in the works, but this
sets a standard many will struggle to surpass. (MP)
http://www.bungalow.de