ORGANUM – BIRD’S WINGS WERE GLUED TO THEIR BODIES AND THEIR FEET FROZE TO THE GROUND (CD by Die Stadt)
HIDENOBU ITO – BEDROOM IN THE CAGE (CD by NS-COM)
KAFFE MATTHEWS – CECILE (CD by Annetteworks)
DARRIN VERHAGEN – SOFT ASH. (CD by Dorobo Records)
TOY BIZARRE – KDI DCTB 93 (CD-R by Taâlem)
VOX BARABARA – THE FIVE SENSES (CD on Little Man Records)
ORGANUM – BIRD’S WINGS WERE GLUED TO THEIR BODIES AND THEIR FEET FROZE TO THE GROUND (CD by Die Stadt)
David Jackman is an artist with many followers, but that’s mainly for his work under the banner of Organum, who are a group. Jackman’s solo efforts are witty, conceptual or noisy at times and is immense expensive… Certain aspects of the Jackman solo work overlap with the Organum work, but that’s mainly the visual side (which shifted in recent years to World War 2 imagery). Anyway, this CD is a new work from Organum (besides Jackman, also Mat Fox, Robert Hampson, Emma O’Bong and Michael Prime), and it has a normal price, and lasts 47:45 (these last two things are noteworthy, since there have been occassions were the CD in question last 1/8 of this and costed three times more). The usual Organum thing is going on here. Rust is a word that springs to mind – bowing, scraping, bending rusty objects, maybe in slowed down speed to create rich patterns of overtones. Despite the noisiness of the description, it’s a mysterious world of it’s own. Three tracks here, of which the second is the longest, with it’s almost 36 minutes. That is a remarkable strange track. It’s kinda like a one minute loop which is repeated – but beware: it might be a played composition aswell. Also the other two tracks create similar patterns and Organum is back were they started with ‘In Extremis’. Good work. (FdW)
Address: fax: + 49 421 75993
HIDENOBU ITO – BEDROOM IN THE CAGE (CD by NS-COM)
Extra points for the sleeve material staticking to the lid of the case. Nice pnkrk touch of the upsidedown side label. Note to all people wishing to send music to deejs – it helps immensely to note the running times of your pieces. On the sleeve notes, on a separate sheet of paper – whatever! Details can either be the bane of or the bloom to the documentarian. Please keep this in mind.
On the cover, a bluewhite, graphed item rests opposite a yawning child. Position of opposites? The presence of the child is somewhat suggestive of possible methods of operation in this music – at times, it is approached in a childlike fashion. Not childISH – childLIKE. Odd samples rend the piece, and beats are truncated and not quite followed through It’s like pressing the “seek” button on a car radio, or, alternating between the program selections (phono/cd/tape 1/video) of your stereo receiver. Could such an operation be done with a modicum of rhythm and thereby win the hearts of writers for The Wire everywhere? As far as fuck music goes, it’s fine at lower levels (because the plants can grow), or, a bit louder, it’s for all you avant-garde sex fiends out there. And I think I know who you are! There’s even sexymanspeak and uprightbass (?) on “A Whim.” Fabulous! Swangin’!
It’s a very attractive situation, this recording. It is asymptomatic of anything NS-COM has released so far – lots of piano, automotive repairs and the occasional screeching bits (guitar incl) here and about. And samples. It even says so (“sample”) on the cover! Nothing like truth in advertising. Thumbs up, it’s top, four stars, and all that rot.
“Tomorrow is our picnic day…it’s going to be pretty hot today…yes, I don’t like such hot weather…” (DC)
Address: nscom@tky.threewebnet.or.jp and
http://www.tky.threewebnet.or.jp/~nscom
KAFFE MATTHEWS – CECILE (CD by Annetteworks)
The crackle and pop of WHAT SEEMS TO BE vinyl – snaps “to.” Rhythms of it. Very nice Kunstkopf effect cadges its way in – moving from ear to ear, like a smile. The edges of the vinyl experience seem to be the ocus – the grooves, man. And now, another presence – something similar yet simultaneously other. As lightning passing through storms of static, this music comes – tumbling and shivering through itself. Carved into dopplered waves of sound. The sound should fill a great hall and then there is confusion – the mark of a rather fine recording – “what was that?” Cf. Did I hear something outside of this, in the “real” world – a noise, a commotion? How often does this happen – that the sound melds with the environment – and how great is that?
Chattering loops to the fore, now. Is the repetition of the loop meant to highlight certain sounds – precluding others? Including others? Does looped music act as a sort of aural Rohrschach test, picking the brain for impressions and details? The sounds shudder to a point, then another set of loops vaults slowly to the forefront. There is some attention to the space between – where sounds from the outside world (i.e. conversation, passionate cries, a telephone) could interject. Is this planned? Sounds follow similar patterns, others fall out of phase – squeak, speak, creak. And the whirr and tumble of WHAT SEEMS TO BE machinery – plugs along. There’s a lull (slight return) and a more manic presence in the treble. Full stop.
The sounds come stealthily in, their presence made known like the travel of a faraway locomotive, breathing wind. And the seaside beckons – how the hiss of a tape sounds like a breaking wave, and Kaffe, my dear, we are on the same wavelength! Ah, well, just another drinking at thee psychick well ov. Varying levels of fuzzy static wend their ways off the track, and what to pick from the pans? It’s sound that isn’t necessarily obtrusive or intrusive. The overall effect – packaging, titles, locales – is a that of diary. A love-letter from the road. In a way, it’s as if these sounds came from that special place of memory – and the attempt is in earnest to transmit those memories via the sound. Electro-thought-phenomena? (DC)
Address: kaf@annetteworks.demon.co.uk
DARRIN VERHAGEN – SOFT ASH. (CD by Dorobo Records)
A CD with a grim undertone and an ironic twist: subject matter are several killer fogs (not frogs) that occurred during the last one and a half century, treated in several musical ways, ranging from ‘isolationist’ to ‘conceptually inaccurate ambient/falsified atmospheric’. Fact is, all tracks are produced with a different appraoch. Track one is the ‘isolationist’ one and uses low drones and sampled voices to create a dark and threatening piece with texts drifting in and out. Track two is the ‘electro-acoustic’ one. Again there are voices, but here there are also cut-ups and more diverse sounds. originating from radio interference. The third track is ‘post-industrial ambient’ and was made by using sounds constructed from the ‘tape hiss of badly mastered recordings of Indian music’. This is a very nice track indeed. There is a dark streak in it (as with the others as well), but that doesn’t make it depressing or anything. The fourth track is a small surprise: it’s the ‘romantic’ version and features wind and string instruments in a slow piece that sounds romantic indeed, but doesn’t get sentimental. Reminds me a little of Gorecki and Branca, but with less pathos. Track five comes as another surprise. The ‘rythmic minimalism’ piece starts off with a blast of bongos and toms and is pretty explosive. The sixth track is very quiet. It is the ‘conceptually inaccurate ambient/falsified atmospheric’ one and passes the ear almost unnoticed. But don’t let that happen; it’s a very beautifull piece. The last track is labeled ‘organic’, but could just as well have been the ‘rythmic minimalist’ one: a rythm is built up by using an unidentifiable sound (listed as ‘filtered pumpkin scrapings’) in different pitches. This one is actually more minimal than track five. The album as a whole is a solid one and notwithstanding the different approaches it sounds cohesive. (MR)
Address: Dorobo Records, P.O. Box 22, Glen Waverly, Victoria 3150, Australia
http://werple.net.au/~dorobo/dorobo.html
dorobo@darkwave.com
TOY BIZARRE – KDI DCTB 93 (CD-R by Taâlem)
This CD-R features 21 untreated field recordings, made in 1997/1998. Each of the recordings is presented with the exact date, time and even latitude and longitude, so if any of you want to check up on these recordings you know where to go. The term field recordings is maybe a somewhat confusing notion in this case, because some tracks were defenitely not recorded in a field, but rather in power stations or factories. There’s a lot of different material on this CD, which makes it highly interesting for those who like to sample and recycle. The selection made for this CD-R is very varied and therefore creates a nice listening experience. Headphones are recommended. (MR)
Address: Harmonie, 13 Rue Corvisart, 75013 Paris, France
haromie@club-internet.fr
http://perso.club-internet.fr/harmonie
VOX BARABARA – THE FIVE SENSES (CD on Little Man Records)
This CD comes in a very elegant paper package and was inspired by the book “Ravings of a Madman” by Anaitre Tellsos in 1797. I don’t know this book, so it’s a little difficult for me to tell in what way the music is influenced by it. All sounds are made by playing household objects and a paper/steel sculpture and sometimes using voice and even some stolen new age harp music (which is not recognizable as such anymore). Also a strum stick is mentioned, but I am not sure on what objects. The original recordings were made in 1996 and remastered for this CD. All five tracks on this disc have a repetitive character, based either on percussive rythms or on loops to which different sounds are added. This gives the music a ‘trancy’ quality, but because of the sounds used, it doesn’t really sound like ritualistic stuff. This is enhanced by the mix: rythmic parts alternate with more drony parts. Most pieces are quite tranquil and dreamy, but occasional outbursts give them extra tension and here and there noisy parts are mixed in. Sometimes the development is a little slow for my taste, but on the other hand that is what this music is about.(MR)
Address: Little Man Records, P.O. Box 45636, Seattle, WA 98145-0636, USA
vox@speakeasy.org