BERNARD GUENTER & JEPH JERMAN – BUDDHA WITH THE SUN FACE/DUDDHA WITH THE
MOON FACE (miniCD by Digital Narcis)
STARS OF THE LID – AVEC LAUDENUM (CD by Sub Rosa)
NOMEX – LIVE @ AUDIOMETRIA (CDR by Adverse)
NOMEX – LIVE @ THE LINK (CDR by Adverse)
IN MEMORIAM MAX BRAND (2CD by Rhiz)
JOHN WIESE/PANICSVILLE (split 5″ vinyl)
BERNARD GUENTER & JEPH JERMAN – BUDDHA WITH THE SUN FACE/DUDDHA WITH THE
MOON FACE (miniCD by Digital Narcis)
There are some things I don’t understand, and here I share one with you:
this CD has some story to it: Bernard Guenter wanted to release some music
from Jeph Jerman (also to some known as Hands To), because Jeph does great
concerts, using no amplification and manipulating found objects in the
desert. So far, so good. But the recordings Jeph made weren’t great, and
Bernard couldn’t fix it (there were ‘outside noises’ in the recording which
couldn’t be removed). Then Bernard has the idea to create his own
composition based on some of Jeph’s sounds, and some of his own. Humm…
hello? Why not rent a solid good studio, with some fine microphones and let
Jeph do his thing? I would be curious to hear his ‘exquisite sense of
timing and sound texture’ (quote from liner notes by Bernard). Why do we
get such a story, if it just leaves us puzzling and wondering why we don’t
get the Jeph Jerman CD (whose name is spelled smaller here then
Bernard’s…)?
Now don’t get me wrong: this is actually a good work, exactely what you
would expect from a good Guenter recording: much silence, very low end
rumbling, and some cracks and pops every now and then (Jeph just ruined
another cactus in the desert again). The result is like a wandering in the
dessert, with it’s strange and desolate feeling.
Address: <dnarcis@jxa.jumbo.or.jp>
STARS OF THE LID – AVEC LAUDENUM (CD by Sub Rosa)
Today, late May 1999, is a hot day, at least for me. I don’t like warm
weather, never did. I like spring time, and while this is supposed to be
spring time, it’s hot. My train moves through the graslands of Holland. I
look outside. Everything passes, shades are everywhere and the clouds are
really nowhere.
I think of Texas. I was in Texas a few years back. It was mid-May and I
thought it was hot. But they said it wasn’t – summer is hot, spring is
nice. I wipe my forehead. We move in a car in Texas. Endless graslands –
much wider, much emptier then what I see now.
Stars Of The Lid are from Texas. Their music is like day in springtime in
Texas. A slight breeze, yet too hot for some. Sunglasses in a car. Slowly
moving in a great empty country. Not much happens, nothing exciting and it
feels good. (FdW)
Address: www.subrosa.be
NOMEX – LIVE @ AUDIOMETRIA (CDR by Adverse)
NOMEX – LIVE @ THE LINK (CDR by Adverse)
Tonight our man at the decks is Nomex. He is the sort of conceptual
anti-DJ, and that might be a reason for him not to call himself DJ Nomex.
He’s right. He uses prepared turntables, handheld stylus, drills etc –
everything your local dance-mag says not to use. Nomex loves noise, big,
harsh and dirty noise. These are two recordings captured on a CD-R in case
you missed the event (actually it’s a set of four, but I have two only). If
you think you get the full 1 hour noise blast – sorry not entirely true.
There is noise, but moves nicely between passages that are err loud and
maybe soft (by some standard of course too loud). I couldn’t recognize much
difference between the two, except that towards the end of disc 2 a slight
sigh left my mouth. Maybe just a bit too much.
Address: <nomex@adverse.demon.co.uk>
IN MEMORIAM MAX BRAND (2CD by Rhiz)
Max Brand is some old composer of, humm what shall we say, maybe electronic
music. He died nearly two decades ago. In the booklet we see him among
synths, read his life story (sie sprechen Deutsch?). One CD is partly
filled with music by the man himself and the rest plus the other are
remixes or tributes (or both combined?)
After I played the ‘originals’ a few times (even though disc 1 starts with
two tributes!) I thought it was nice, but I couldn’t discover the big
concept, the moving theme but rather plain electronic music. Bleeps here
and there, very sort of conservative serious music (I must admit I can’t
comment on placing this in the right historical perspective).
The remix/tribute CD is of much more liking, moving back and forth between
those things that make Vienna an lively musical place: noise (Pure, Radian,
Pita), witty humour pieces (in which fun is made of Max Brand’s
commercials, originals on disc one), drum & bass (Elmu) techno (Epy) and
serious electronica (Curd Duca, Musikkreis MS20). With mixed feelings. (FdW)
Address: www.rhiz.org
JOHN WIESE/PANICSVILLE (split 5″ vinyl)
5″ vinyl is so nice, so short and so hard to play. John Wiese and
Panicsville share a 5″ vinyl. John ‘s side is on 45 rpm, so even shorter. A
full side of noise and feedback. Panicsville’s “It’s Better To Give Than to
Receive Pain” is a wild collage of noise and some strange cut-up of music.
Funny item.
Address: <johnwiese@earthlink.net>